1. In Seoul on July 2, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held the third meeting with his counterparts from Cuarteto countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the largest regional cooperative mechanism in the region with 33 member states.

ο The CELAC delegation to the meeting included Foreign Ministers Manuel Gonzalez Sanz and Ricardo Patino of Costa Rica and Ecuador, respectively, as well as Director-General of Multilateral Affairs and International Law Pedro Nunez Mosquera of the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

2. The two sides, citing their first-ever meeting in Seoul as a proof for their willingness to step up the ROK-CELAC cooperation, formally agreed to hold on a regular basis the Foreign Ministers’ meeting between the ROK and CELAC’s Cuarteto countries.

ο The two sides agreed to hold inter-sessional meetings between their high-level officials, as proposed by Minister Yun, to review the progress in the implementation of measures agreed upon by the Foreign Ministers and to continue consultations on specific ways to carry out the ROK-CELAC cooperation.

3. In the meeting, the two sides agreed to comprehensively expand the scope of the ROK-Latin America cooperation beyond trade and economy to include politics, society, culture, regional situations and global issues.

ο They drew a common understanding that to that end, they should enhance mutual understanding and expand the base of their cooperation through more active academic and cultural exchanges. In that vein, they agreed to gradually increase academic conferences and promote youth exchanges.

4. Minister Yun brought attention to the ROK’s efforts to step up its substantive cooperation with Latin America mainly in such sectors as development, agriculture and industry, stressing that such efforts are mutually beneficial for a shared prosperity in the two regions. The CELAC delegation, commending the ROK’s cooperation projects with Latin America, voiced hope for an increase in bilateral cooperation in e-government and other fields where the ROK has its strengths.

5. The two sides, in view of their cooperation on the international stage as an important pillar in that between the ROK and CELAC, agreed to work closely with each other on the proposed reform of the UN Security Council, responses to climate change, disarmament, non-proliferation and the post-2015 development agenda and other key international issues related to global governance .

6. Minister Yun explained in detail the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. The CELAC delegation, sharing the view of North Korea’s nuclear programs as a threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and of the entire world, conveyed hope that inter-Korean trust will be built through dialogue and that unification will be achieved on the Korean Peninsula.

7. At the meeting, the two sides agreed to hold the meeting on a regular basis in order to seek ways to expand and bolster the ROK-CELAC cooperation mechanism and to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, including politics, economy, society, culture and global issues. As such, the meeting served as a milestone for the ROK and CELAC to put into full gear and institutionalize their cooperation. In particular, the meeting is seen to have contributed to the ROK’s efforts to strengthen its cooperation with CELAC, the largest regional mechanism that the ROK holds bilateral dialogue with, and thereby to its implementation of multilayered diplomacy.


                      Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation