Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will meet with Richard Hatchett, chief executive officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), early next week and discuss cooperation, Cho's office said Thursday. The meeting, set for Monday, comes as CEPI is scheduled to hold its council meeting in South Korea from Aug. 29-30. CEPI, co-founded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a global partnership for vaccine research and development against infectious diseases, like the coronavirus. Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to provide an additional US$24 million to CEPI, an amount nearly triple what South Korea has contributed to CEPI so far. Source: Yonhap News Agency