1. The “2017 symposium of the center for cooperation with Latin America in resources and infrastructure” will take place on December 13. It will be co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry’s center for cooperation with Latin America in resources and infrastructure and the International Contractors Association of Korea.

o Since 2010, the Foreign Ministry has held the symposium every year to support Korean companies seeking to build presence in Latin America, help establish networks among people in related areas, and share up-to-date information and trends.

2. At the symposium, officials from companies doing business in Latin America and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, as well as experts on urban planning in Latin America, will make presentations on the trends and prospects of the Latin American infrastructure market; systems for financial support; cases of Korean and Spanish companies’ successful bidding through cooperation; current trends and prospects of smart city and urban renewal and restoration projects in Latin America.

o The topics of the presentations were selected considering the fact that most projects in the Latin American infrastructure market are public-private partnership (PPP) or concession projects, and thus the ability to mobilize financial resources has become an important factor that affects the success or failure of bids, and that it is useful to enter the Latin American market jointly with Spanish companies with long years of experience and networks in the market.

o Professor of Architecture of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil Patricia Figueira Lassance, an expert on urban planning, will provide information on smart city and urban renewal and restoration projects in Latin America.

3. The upcoming symposium is expected to serve as an opportunity to establish a system for communications with people in relevant organizations, industries, academia and research institutes in Latin America, and discuss strategies for expanding Korean companies’ participation in infrastructure and plant projects in the region, as well as ways to work together on them.


* unofficial translation