- Vice Minister Choi Jong Kun Attends the 13th Vice Ministerial Meeting between Korea and Eight Central American Countries -

1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun attended a vice ministerial meeting between Korea and eight Central American countries (SICA), named Korea-SICA meeting on Dialogue and Cooperation, in Costa Rica on April 22 at 09:00-12:30 local time, and announced the Korea-SICA joint statement, which came six years after the last one.

※ Central American Integration System (SICA): Central America’s regional organization established in 1991 for political and economic integration

- Member States (8): Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua / Korea joined SICAas a non-regional observer in 2012.

2. This marked the first high-level multilateral face-to-face meeting with Central America since the COVID-19 outbreak, and served as an opportunity to establish the basis for the promotion of exchanges between both sides as next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Central American countries.

° Both sides agreed to work for sustainable and mutually beneficial development as well as to build up solidarity for inclusive economic recovery, by strengthening the nexus between the New Deal Policy of Korea and the green technology and digital transformation policy of SICA member countries.

° The meeting also served to foster cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, technology, infrastructure, health and medicine, as well as to strengthen the foundation for Korean companies to make inroads into the Central American market with a population of 60 million, tapping into the momentum created through the entry into force of the Korea-Central America FTA and the accession of Korea to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

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3. In particular, Korea and SICA member countries adopted a joint statement on the basis of the common awareness of the danger of discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean, and expressed deep concerns about the serious consequences. The two sides also emphasized the need for joint action by the international community against marine contamination in the Pacific.

° The joint statement marks the first result of a high-level multilateral meeting led by Korea that expressed the concern of the international community on the matter and urged joint action. It was adopted and published nine days after Japan made the decision to discharge contaminated water from its nuclear power station on April 13.

° It carries significance in that non-Asian countries that share the common coasts of the Pacific immediately raised their voices against a unilateral act of contaminating the ocean without prior consultations with neighboring countries.

※ In his opening remarks, Vice Minister Choi emphasized that discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean is an act that generates irreversible damage to the marine ecosystems not only in neighboring countries but throughout the world, as well as that it is an abnegation of responsibility for next generations. He then stressed that the international community should call for a thorough examination into the safety of the discharge of the contaminated water, adhering to the priority principles of health and security of the people in countries along the Pacific coasts and the protection of the environment.

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4. At the meeting, Vice Minister Choi also explained the Korean government’s effort to achieve denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. SICA member countries recognized the need to resume inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. dialogues and agreed to continue supporting the Korean government’s effort to achieve concrete progress in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

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5. Following the Korea-SICA meeting on Dialogue and Cooperation, Vice Minister Choi held bilateral meetings with Vice Ministers of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, respectively, and discussed bilateral relations, substantive cooperation, cooperation on the international stage and regional situation, among others.