1. On October 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Rural Development Administration (RDA) had a meeting with the Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade of 7 Central American countries, who are on a visit to the Republic of Korea to attend the Korea-Central America Special Roundtable. During the meeting, they discussed ways to expand the areas of cooperation on digital and low-carbon agricultural technology, since MOFA and the RDA jointly dispatched a delegation for agricultural cooperation to Central America this July.

※Participants: (Central American side) Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, and the Vice Minister of Trade of Panama, (Korean side) Hur Taewoong, the Administrator of RDA, Choi Jong-uk, Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of MOFA, and Kwon Taek-Ryoun, Director-General of the Technology Cooperation Bureau of the RDA

*Korea-Central America Special Roundtable (10.28, Seoul): It is the first high-level Korea-Central America-U.S. trilateral dialogue platform, hosted by the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, in which the three sides evaluated diplomatic accomplishments this year, and discussed ways for future cooperation between Korea and Central America.

2. The Administrator of RDA Hur Taewoong gave a brief overview of the agricultural technology cooperation between the two regions through regional cooperative platforms such as [Korea-Latin America Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KoLFACI)] and the [Center of Korea Program for International Cooperation in Agricultural technology(KOPIA)], and conveyed the Korean government’s willingness to cooperate with Central American countries in the area of agricultural technology as a follow-up to the 2nd P4G Seoul summit (2021.05) and the 4th Korea-SICA summit (2021.06).

3. The Vice Ministers of Central American countries including Guatemala and Honduras expressed their gratitude for Korea’s support on agricultural cooperation projects through Official Development Assistance programs, and asked for continuous attention and support, saying that the Central American region is facing food security crisis caused by climate change such as natural disaster, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation.

° Furthermore, the Vice Ministers hoped for the Korean government’s cooperation on strengthening capability in processing and treatment of post-harvest agricultural and livestock products for increasing rural household income.   

4. The Korean side expressed willingness to pursue various cooperation projects in line with the agricultural innovation needs that were recognized during the Korean delegation’s dispatch to Central America this July.

° The two sides agreed to work together to seek new Korea-Central America agricultural technology cooperative projects on the occasion of ‘the 4th General Assembly of KoLFACI’ that will be held in April 2022 in Korea. 

5. The visit of the RDA by the Vice Ministers of 7 Central American countries served as an opportunity to reaffirm achievements in agricultural cooperation between Korea and the Central American region and, building upon them, strengthen cooperation on digital and low-carbon agricultural innovation, as next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and 7 Central American countries.

° The Korean government will continue strengthening its leading role in the Central American region’s socio-economic stabilization, as well as the inclusive green recovery of the international community after the 2nd P4G Seoul Summit, by creating linkages between Korea’s strengths in digital and low-carbon agricultural technology and Central America’s rich biodiversity.