1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun will hold the 3rd Korea-Colombia High-level Policy Consultation with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia Francisco Javier Echeverri in a virtual format on the morning of December 16, and discuss various areas such as Korea-Colombia bilateral relations, post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation, and cooperation on the international stage.

o In the upcoming meeting, which will be the first High-level Policy Consultation with a Latin American country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides will discuss ways to reinforce substantive cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era in various fields, including health and medical care, information and communications technology (ICT), science and technology, infrastructure, and the defense industry, so as to concretize their commitment to expanding cooperation that was affirmed in the phone conversation between the leaders of the two countries in early April (Apr. 2).

o Vice Minister Choi, by holding the High-level Policy Consultation with Colombia in about 20 days after the face-to-face meeting with his Costa Rican counterpart in late November (Nov. 25), will continue high-level strategic communication and discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation with Latin American countries, which are rising as promising new markets in the post-COVID-19 era.

2. Colombia is the only Latin American country that sent troops to the Korean War and Korea’s key cooperation partner in Latin America, and Korea and Colombia established the “Strategic Cooperative Partnership (2011)” building on the long-lasted relations forged in blood, and have expanded and advanced substantive cooperation such as through the conclusion of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (which entered into force in July, 2016).

o Colombia, the third Latin American country to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Apr. 2020), is one of the three biggest markets in Latin America as well as an FTA hub that has FTA networks with 50 countries around the world, and it is drawing attention as a logistics and business stronghold in the Americas in the post-COVID-19 era.

o In addition, the “orange economy” and “promise with Colombia” policies that President of Colombia H.E. Iván Duque is actively pursuing are showing great potential for cooperation in the areas of digital transformation and environmentally-friendly infrastructure when coupled with a Korean New Deal comprehensive plan.

3. The upcoming High-level Policy Consultation is expected to serve as an opportunity for the two countries to have active discussions on post-COVID-19 substantive cooperation projects between the two countries in a full range of areas based on their robust high-level communication and cooperation in public health and disease control that have continued even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.