1. The first meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) Steering Committee took place in Seoul on January 30. Participants in the meeting adopted the “Rules of Procedures” containing detailed guidelines on the operation of the Steering Committee, and selected FEALAC’s first projects for substantive cooperation.

o In the meeting, the Republic of Korea (representing East Asia) and Mexico (representing Latin America) were elected as co-chairs which will lead the FEALAC Steering Committee for the next two years (2018-19).

2. The meeting was held to discuss concrete ways to operate the FEALAC Trust Fund, one of the biggest achievements of the 8th FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held in Busan on August 31 last year. It brought together about 60 people from thirty members of FEALAC, including the ROK, Peru, Mexico, Laos and other donor countries, as well as UN agencies (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)/Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)), and the FEALAC Cyber Secretariat.

o Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Huh Tae-wan of the Foreign Ministry led the ROK delegation to the meeting, and presided over the meeting in his capacity as temporary chair.

3. The participating countries agreed to gradually expand a range of cooperation projects in five areas -- ▲trade and investment, ▲science, technology and innovation, ▲infrastructure and transportation, ▲sustainable growth, and ▲public policy -- by utilizing the FEALAC Trust Fund. They selected the following two projects in the areas of trade and investment, and public policy as their first projects to be implemented for the next three years, taking into account the effectiveness of the projects and the benefits that they can bring to the people.

o The first project aims to explore measures to deepen bi-regional integration through research on value chains between East Asia and Latin America, and carry out capacity-building activities. It is expected to help companies of FEALAC member countries increase their presence in each other’s countries.

o The second project aims to conduct research into ways to reduce inequality, emerging as a multidimensional social issue in both regions, and develop innovative policies to leave no one behind. It is expected to help FEALAC member countries achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

4. The meeting served as an opportunity to select founding contributors of the Fund and increase the number of donor countries; officially launch the Steering Committee; and lay the foundation for early settlement of the Fund through selection of cooperation projects, as well as successful operation of the Fund and its continued growth.

o The ROK, which led the creation of the FEALAC Trust Fund last year and became one of the first countries to make a contribution to the Fund, successfully led the first meeting of the Steering Committee. This served to further enhance the ROK’s status as a leading country at the forum for bi-regional cooperation, where the ROK can make tangible progress in diversifying its diplomacy towards Latin America.

5. The second meeting of the FEALAC Steering Committee will be held jointly with the 19th FEALAC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), which will take place in Laos in November this year. The ROK will preside over the second meeting as co-chair, and continue to review the progress in pursuing the projects agreed upon in the first meeting.

* unofficial translation