1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun, together with Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean of Spain Cristina Gallach, will hold the 2^nd Korea-Spain Strategic Dialogue in a virtual format at 17:00-18:30, December 3, and discuss the development of the relations between Korea and Spain, of which this year marks the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, cooperation in response to COVID-19, substantive cooperation in economic and cultural affairs, and situations on the Korean Peninsula and in other regions of the world.

° Vice Minister Choi, by holding the Strategic Dialogue with Spain merely about a month after the Korea-Italy Strategic Dialogue on October 30, will continue efforts to step up strategic communication and cooperation with major European countries amid the COVID-19 situation.

° Secretary of State Gallach, who will hold the Strategic Dialogue with Vice Minister Choi, started her career as a journalist and then worked at various international organizations, including the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), and as Head of the Department for Public Information during the service of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

2. During the Strategic Dialogue, considering that this year is significant in that it marks the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-Spain diplomatic relations, the Vice Minister and the Secretary of State will discuss pending bilateral issues and find ways to strengthen the momentum of cooperation.

° At the 13^th Korea-Spain Forum held on November 25 in a virtual format, co-organized by the Korea Foundation and Casa Asia, the Vice Minister and the Secretary of State delivered congratulatory remarks on behalf of each government, lending support to the private sector’s efforts to fuel the momentum of bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

3. The upcoming Strategic Dialogue is expected to serve as an opportunity to look back at 70 years of Korea-Spain relations and to explore diverse forms of cooperation, including bilateral cooperation between Korea and Spain, multilateral cooperation, and trilateral cooperation among Korea, Spain and Latin America.

° Spain has much in common with Korea including the size of its population and economy, and works with Korea on the international stage as like-minded countries. It also maintains close ties with Latin America and the Caribbean based on linguistic and cultural similarities.