1. Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Ho-seung, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea, signed a protocol of accession to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) at the Government Complex Sejong on December 28.

° On behalf of CABEI, its Executive President Dante Mossi signed the document. Upon completion of the ratification process at the National Assembly, the ROK will officially become the 15th member of CABEI.

2. CABEI is a multilateral development bank founded in 1960 to contribute to economic development and regional integration of Central America.

° The organization is composed of 14 members -- 8 Central American countries (the Republic of Guatemala, the Republic of El Salvador, the Republic of Costa Rica, the Republic of Honduras, the Republic of Nicaragua, Belize, the Republic of Panama, and the Dominican Republic); and 6 non-regional members (Taiwan, the United Mexican States, the Kingdom of Spain, the Argentine Republic, the Republic of Colombia, and the Republic of Cuba).

° Its main mission is rendering financial support for infrastructure and energy projects conducted by the public and private sectors of Central American countries.

3. As a member of CABEI, the ROK will acquire a 7.6% stake, the second-largest among the non-Central American members and the seventh-largest among all the CABEI members, and thereby is expected to serve on its Board of Directors.

° As the second-largest stakeholder among the non-Central American members after Taiwan and as CABEI’s foothold in Asia, the ROK is expected to exert considerable leverage.

4. Despite the great growth potential of Central America, for linguistic and geopolitical reasons, a relatively small number of Korean enterprises and workers have built presence in the region.

° The conclusion of the ROK-Central America FTA on February 21, 2018, and the ROK’s accession to CABEI are expected to facilitate economic cooperation and workforce exchanges between the two regions.

* unofficial translation