Seoul, Nov 24 (IANS): The top diplomats of South Korea and New Zealand spoke over the phone on Tuesday and discussed bilateral cooperation in areas including the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and green growth, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.

The phone talks between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her counterpart, Nanaia Mahuta, marked their first since Mahuta took office early this month following New Zealand's election that earned Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern a second term, Yonhap news agency reported.

In the talks, Kang first congratulated the new minister on assuming the post and wished Wellington success in the hosting of the Partnership for Green Growth and Global Goals (P4G) 2030, a multilateral initiative for sustainable growth, the ministry said in a release.

The two ministers agreed to cooperate in the development and fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines through the multilateral platform known as the COVAX Facility.

They also shared understanding that there is great potential for the two countries to work together in hydrogen-related fields, since both Seoul and Wellington aim to go carbon neutral by 2050, and agreed to expand cooperation to that end, according to the ministry.