1. On the morning of November 25, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun had a meeting with Vice Minister for Bilateral Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Costa Rica Adriana Bolaños, who visited the Republic of Korea as the first high-level official of Costa Rica to visit any foreign country since the outbreak of COVID-19, and extensively exchanged views on the bilateral relations, collaboration on COVID-19, post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation and regional cooperation between the ROK and Central America, among others.

​

° The first high-level in-person meeting between the ROK and Costa Rica since the outbreak of COVID-19 focused on discussing post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation with Costa Rica, an exemplary Latin American country in green growth.

2. Vice Minister Choi noted with appreciation that the ROK and Costa Rica, as long-standing friends sharing such universal values as democracy, human rights and peace, have worked actively together in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, including providing humanitarian assistance and sharing experiences in disease prevention and control, and he went on to express hope to further expand cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

​

3. Vice Minister Bolaños relayed the Costa Rican government’s high interest and commitment regarding the development of bilateral relations and expressed special appreciation to the ROK government for its assistance on COVID-19 response.

​

4. Vice Minister Choi explained “the comprehensive plan for the Korean New Deal Initiative” designed for the ROK’s new leap in the post-COVID-19 era, suggesting expanding substantive cooperation on “the Digital New Deal” and “the Green Deal” with Costa Rica, the ROK’s top cooperative partner in Latin America.

​

° In particular, Vice Minister Choi voiced hope that Korean agencies and companies would participate in the key national projects pursued by the Costa Rican government, such as the construction project of urban rail in the Greater Metropolitan Area and the digital financial integration system project, and strongly asked for the Costa Rican government’s support and cooperation.

​

° Deputy Minister Bolaños, welcoming the Vice Minister’s suggestion, conveyed hope to work actively with the ROK in order for Costa Rica’s decarbonization plan and digital economy policy to succeed on the basis of the ROK’s advanced technology and knowhow.

​

5. Vice Minister Bolaños suggested that, with the year 2021 marking the bicentennial of the independence of Central America and the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Central American Integration System (SICA), the ROK-Central America cooperation be expanded, and particularly expressed hope that, during its service as the chair country of SICA in the first half of the year 2021, Costa Rica would contribute to boosting ROK-SICA cooperation.

​

6. Today’s meeting has become a starting point for all-out post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation between the ROK and Costa Rica, as the two sides expressed their commitment to enhancing bilateral relations by resuming in-person diplomacy following the outbreak of COVID-19 and discussed Korean companies’ participation in Costa Rica’s infrastructure projects under its Green New Deal policy.