1. On the afternoon of November 25, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador Luis Gallegos, who is on a visit to the Republic of Korea to attend the Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum, and discussed ways to enhance substantive cooperation between the two countries, including cooperation in COVID-19 response; economic and trade cooperation such as infrastructure construction; and expansion of cultural exchanges.

2. Minister Kang said that it is very meaningful that Minister Gallegos is the first Latin American foreign minister to visit the ROK since the outbreak of COVID-19, and hoped that his visit would serve as an opportunity to make a big advancement in the bilateral relations that have developed since former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon’s official visit to Ecuador in May last year.

3. Minister Gallegos expressed appreciation to the ROK government for providing various types of humanitarian assistance including KF94 masks and actively sharing its experience in disease prevention and control including holding webinars in order to support Ecuador’s response to COVID-19.

o Minister Kang expressed hope that the ROK government’s humanitarian assistance and sharing of experience in disease prevention and control would help Ecuador overcome COVID-19, and stated that the ROK government will continue to cooperate with the international community including Ecuador in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation.

4. Minister Kang asked for the Ecuadorian government’s attention to ensure an early conclusion of the contract on the Manta Airport operation project in which the Korea Airports Corporation is seeking to participate, and noted with appreciation that development cooperation projects being pursued by the ROK government in various fields including rural development and healthcare are making progress.

o Minister Gallegos highly recognized that the ROK’s various development cooperation projects are contributing significantly to Ecuador’s social and economic development, and added that Ecuador will pay more attention to further facilitating substantive cooperation with the ROK.

5. Meanwhile, Minister Gallegos stated that the two retired 300-ton patrol vessels which the ROK government donated to Ecuador will arrive in Ecuador in December, and expressed deep gratitude to the ROK government, mentioning that the vessels will contribute greatly to protecting the marine ecosystem in Galapagos.

o Minister Kang hoped that the Korea Coast Guard’s donation of the retired vessels would serve as an opportunity to further enhance the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and diversify the areas of cooperation.

6. Minister Gallegos noted that as agreed during former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon’s visit to Ecuador last year, the exhibition of Oswaldo Guayasamín, a prominent Ecuadorian artist, will be held in the ROK in December, and expressed hope that the exhibition would help promote mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the ROK and Ecuador.

o Minister Kang also hoped that Guayasamín’s exhibition would become an opportunity to further expand cultural exchanges between the two countries.

7. Right after the meeting, Ministers Kang and Gallegos took a photo to commemorate the ROK’s donation of KF94 masks to Ecuador in humanitarian aid to help the country tackle COVID-19.

8. This meeting was Minister Kang’s first meeting with a Latin American counterpart since the outbreak of COVID-19. It served as an opportunity to further strengthen substantive cooperation between the two countries in the post-COVID-19 era, including cooperation in disease prevention and control and healthcare such as COVID-19 response; cooperation in infrastructure construction; development cooperation, and expansion of cultural exchanges.