Courtesy Visits to Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, and Meeting and Working Luncheon with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia

1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun is visiting Colombia from April 18 to 20. As the first official agenda on April 19, he paid courtesy visits to Vice President of Colombia Marta Lucía Ramírez and Foreign Minister Claudia Blum, and had a meeting and working luncheon with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Echeverri.

2. During the courtesy visit to Vice President of Colombia Ramírez, Vice Minister Choi expressed gratitude for the constant support of the Colombian government for progress in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. As next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides agreed to expand high-level exchanges, promote trade and investment on the basis of the bilateral FTA, and draw a vision for cooperation in the digital and green industries to prepare for the new 60 years.

° Vice President of Colombia Ramírez conveyed her gratitude to the Korean government for its support for the combat against COVID-19 as well as the socio-economic development of Colombia as Korea’s priority partner country in ODA, and asked that Korean companies expand their investments in Colombia as a strategic hub for their efforts to make inroads into the Latin American market.

° The two sides agreed to expand substantial bilateral cooperation in the areas of rural development, marine affairs, manufacturing such as shipbuilding, and renewable energy for post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

※ The courtesy visit lasted for an hour, 30 minutes longer than expected.

3. Vice Minister Choi made a courtesy visit to Foreign Minister of Colombia Claudia Blum, and proposed to further expand substantial cooperation in the areas of digital transformation, climate change and green growth in the face of the post-COVID-19 era, on the basis of the ROK-Colombia Strategic Cooperative Partnership strengthened through the bilateral cooperation in combating COVID-19 last year.

° Foreign Minister Blum noted with satisfaction bilateral high-level exchanges such as the telephone conversation between both Presidents amid the COVID-19 situation last year, and expressed her hope to continue active high-level exchanges on the occasion of the 2nd P4G Summit to be held in Korea in May and the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial to be held in Korea in December.

4. Vice Minister Choi also met with Vice Minister Echeverri and discussed concrete ways to promote substantial cooperation on trade and investment, health and medicine, and science and technology to overcome the crisis of COVID-19.

° The two sides agreed to establish an Innovation Partnership for the economic recovery and transformation of the industrial structure in the post-COVID-19 era and to work together in the areas of digital government, science and technology, cultural and creative industries, and biotechnology.

° Moreover, the two sides reaffirmed the strong support of the government of Colombia, which assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance for this year, for the accession of Korea to the bloc as an Associate Member.

※ Pacific Alliance: A regional integration body officially established in May 2012 and comprised of Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Trade agreements are signed and brought into force between regular and associate members.

5. Also, during the courtesy visits and meetings, Vice Minister Choi conveyed the Korean government’s grave concern over the Japanese government’s decision of April 13 to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean, stressed several principles including the provision of sufficient scientific information by the Japanese government, sufficient prior consultation with the government of its closest neighboring country, Korea, and the need for participation of Korean experts in the IAEA verification process, and also asked for the understanding and collaboration of the Colombian government that shares the coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

6. The courtesy visits of Vice Minister Choi to the Colombian high-level officials served as an opportunity to consolidate Colombia’s support for the main diplomatic policies of Korea and broaden the horizon of the Korean New Deal policy towards Latin America, which is a promising region with high growth potential.