President Lee Jae Myung and Bill Gates discussed ways to expand cooperation on global health initiatives during the Microsoft co-founder’s first visit to South Korea in three years.

Welcoming the Gates Foundation chair to his office on Thursday, Lee praised the foundation’s work to benefit the planet and humanity, such as developing vaccines and eco-friendly energy facilities, saying the country will seek to participate as much as possible.

Gates said he intends to draw on his assets and funds from the foundation and spend 200 billion U.S. dollars within the next 20 years to decrease the number of deaths among children around the world to under two million a year, an 80 percent reduction from current levels.

He said South Korea can play a key role in global health initiatives through “innovative products” in areas such as vaccines and diagnostic equipment, adding that the growth of the bioscience sector in the country has been very impressive.

Gates is reportedly visiting the country to explore cooperation with domestic pharmaceutical companies on vaccine supply projects for low-income countries.