외교부

As a country which initiated the FEALAC Trust Fund and the New FEALAC Action Plan, Korea is ready and willing to play a facilitating role in their implementation. In tune with this, Korea garnered the Fund members’ opinions and proposed measures for further improvement towards expanding the authority of member countries and promoting their greater participation in the operation of the Fund.

I am pleased to take this opportunity to announce that Korea plans to contribute an additional one million dollars to the FEALAC Fund – bringing the total amount it has provided to the Fund to a figure of three million dollars. I look forward to even more active discussions among members on ways to expand the Fund and develop projects which really encapsulate what FEALAC is about.

Mr. Co-Chair,

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As we mark the 20th anniversary, I believe that the time is ripe for us to do some collective soul-searching regarding the future of the forum. I am convinced that we need to give serious thought to the matter of convening a FEALAC Special Commemorative Summit with the participation of the heads of state sometime on the path ahead. A summit meeting would indeed serve as concrete manifestation of our deep shared commitment. It would also help greatly enhance FEALAC’s profile and visibility. In this regard, I propose that, as a preparatory process, the Troika members take the initiative to embark on active discussion on the matter of holding a summit meeting. To those ends, we could make use of the upcoming FEALAC meetings for in-depth deliberations among the Troika members. And we may wish to seek to reach agreement in principle on those matters at next year’s Troika Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Obviously, such approaches will be possible only once there is consensus amongst the members.  

Furthermore, we could consider making full use of the Business Forum as a key mechanism for deepening connectivity. The Innovative Business Forum held yesterday, bringing together potential investors and government officials from all around the world, proved itself to be a useful inter-regional platform that does indeed well promote economic connectivity. As a next step for further institutionalization, recalling the suggestion made at the 2nd Business Forum held in Bangkok five years ago, there is a need to embark on the discussions on establishing a Steering Committee that would consist of 4-5 members.

Mr. Co-chair,

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FEALAC offers tremendous potential – potential for deepening cooperation between East Asia and Latin America. Yet to translate this potential into reality, we need to take concrete actions – small but steady steps. I propose that, as our predecessors did for us two decades ago, we take bold steps together to set FEALAC on the right course for generations to come. Thank you.   /End/