1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, will co-host at the Conrad Seoul Hotel on November 23-24 the “2020 Korea-LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) Future Cooperation Forum,” the first multilateral conference among minister- and vice minister-level officials of foreign countries to take place in the Republic of Korea since the spread of COVID-19.

2. For the Forum to be held in both virtual and face-to-face formats, minister- or vice minister-level officials of the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Panama, the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Colombia will visit the ROK, while minister- or vice minister-level officials of health and other relevant agencies of some countries, including the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, the Republic of Chile, and the Federative Republic of Brazil, will virtually deliver presentations and participate in discussions on “ways for strengthening prevention and health solidarity between Korea and Latin America during the new normal era after Corona 19.”

° The ROK delegation will include people from the government and international organizations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the Korea Drug Development Fund, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the International Vaccine Institute, and Institut Pasteur Korea, as well as civilian experts.

3. On the first day, November 23, the Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum will kick off with an opening speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha, welcoming remarks by Minister of Health and Welfare Park, Neunghoo and congratulatory remarks by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador Luis Gallegos, followed by presentations and discussions in Session I on the theme of “building solidarity between Korea and LAC countries for the effective response to infectious diseases in the new normal era” and Session II on “establishing international partnerships for effective treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.”

° In her opening speech at the Forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang will mention the significance of the ROK-LAC solidarity in the areas of health and disease prevention and control, and present a vision for strategic future cooperation between the two regions in preparation for the post-COVID-19 new normal era.

° In his welcoming remarks at the Forum, Minister of Health and Welfare Park will introduce the ROK’s strategies for controlling and responding to COVID-19 and deliver a message hoping for active ROK-LAC cooperation in bringing an end to the pandemic based on the past bilateral exchanges in the field of health and medical care.

4. On November 24, its second day, the Forum will begin with welcoming remarks by Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hwang Kyung-tae, followed by Session I in the form of expert forum on “searching for digital healthcare cooperation strategies between Korea and LAC in the new normal era” and Session II in the form of youth forum to explore the possibility of Korean youth’s entry into LAC in such areas as health and medical care, construction and infrastructure, and culture and contents, in the post-COVID-19 era.

5. The upcoming Forum is expected to serve as an opportunity to further enhance the ROK-LAC partnership for shared prosperity amid the global health crisis by discussing ways to reinforce the ROK-LAC solidarity and cooperation on health and disease prevention and control for response to infectious diseases, and ways to promote cooperation on pharmaceutics and digital health and medical care in preparation for the post-COVID-19 new normal era, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis faced by the entire world.

° The visit to the ROK by minister- and vice minister-level officials of LAC countries despite the spread of COVID-19 in LAC is seen to reflect the strong will of those countries to share the ROK’s K-quarantine experiences and to bolster cooperation in such sectors as pharmaceutics as well as digital health and medical care in the post-COVID-19 new normal era.

6. The Forum will be held in strict compliance with the COVID-19 quarantine requirements, with a limited number of on-site registrants and in-person participants. For those wishing to watch the Forum, it will be available for viewing online in real time after pre-registration at the website of the Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum at k-lacforum.or.kr.

° In the case of the youth forum, applications of up to 50 people for in-person participation will also be accepted at the Forum’s website.