1. Special envoys sent by the government of the Republic of Korea to the inauguration ceremony of President Iván Duque of Colombia (Representatives Woo Won-shik (head delegate), Yu Eui-dong and Yun So-ha) attended the ceremony, held in Bogota, Colombia, on August 7.

o The ceremony was attended by the leaders of ten countries, including Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Panama, as well as special envoys from the ROK, the US, China, Japan, Spain and other countries.

2. During his courtesy call on new Colombian President Duque on August 7, special envoy Woo Won-shik delivered President Moon Jae-in’s letter, in which he expressed hope that the ROK and Colombia would continue to enhance friendly and cooperative relations between them. The special envoy also asked for President Duque’s interest and cooperation.

o Special envoy Woo Won-shik expected that the friendly relations established after Colombia fought alongside the ROK in the Korean War would be strengthened further during President Duque’s term of office, and hoped that the two countries would facilitate substantive cooperation, especially in the areas of e-government and the creative economy.

o President Duque expressed hope that building upon the ROK-Colombia FTA (which entered into force in 2016), the two countries would continue to step up economic cooperation in a mutually beneficial way, and that exports of Colombian agricultural and livestock products to the ROK would increase.

3. Special envoy Woo Won-shik paid a courtesy call on Vice President Marta Ramírez on August 6, and exchanged views on ways to work together to continue to strengthen the “ROK-Colombia strategic cooperative partnership.”

o Special envoy Woo asked for the Colombian side’s support for more Korean companies’ participation in Colombia’s major infrastructure projects; further cooperation in the areas of digital government, and the knowledge-based economy; and the ROK’s accession to the Pacific Alliance (PA) as associate member.

o Vice President Ramírez expressed a lot of interest and support for the implementation of the ROK-Colombia FTA, more investment in Colombia by Korean companies, and the ROK’s associate membership in the Pacific Alliance.

4. Meanwhile, the special envoys had a meeting with Korean residents and representatives from Korean companies in Colombia on August 7. In the meeting, the special envoys offered encouragement to the Korean community and companies in Colombia, and were told about the difficulties they were facing in the country.

o In the meeting, special envoy Woo explained the ROK government’s major policy direction, and the recent progress in inter-Korean relations, and asked the Korean community in Colombia to play a constructive role in advancing the ROK-Colombia relations.

* unofficial translation