SEOUL, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu this week and discussed various bilateral issues, such as strengthening their countries' bilateral relations, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday and Thursday (local time). The Cho-Ma meeting came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a trip to Europe, according to the ministry. Cho and Ma agreed on the importance of the South Korea-China relations and "maintaining close dialogue" regardless of other issues between the two, it said of the meeting in a press release. During his visit to Brazil, Cho also met with the top diplomats from all other G7 countries. He participated in a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from the United States and Japan, as well as bilateral talks with his counterparts from Canada, Japan and Italy. Cho also held informal talks with top diplomats of France and Germany, and attended a dinner party with his counterpart from Britain. Also on Thursday, Cho met with UNESCO's chief to discuss ways to bolster cooperation in the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as other issues. During the meeting, Cho said the two sides can expand cooperation as UNESCO has recommended a global standard-setting instrument for the ethical use of AI, while Seoul is set to host a global AI safety summit in May. Azoulay expressed her gratitude for Seoul's support in UNESCO's various initiatives in Africa, such as vocational training. The UNESCO chief then expressed hope for the successful hosting of the inaugural South Korea-Africa summit, to be held in South Korea in June, and for expanded cooperation between the two sides. Source: Yonhap News Agency