- Expansion of ROK-Spain dialogue for joint entry into Latin America and cooperation with the region –

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 4^th ROK-Spain Meeting of Directors-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs in Madrid, Spain on June 30 (Wed) as a follow-up measure* to the ROK-Spain summit held on June 16.

*In the Joint Statement on the ROK-Spain Strategic Partnership, it is stated that “the ROK and Spain continue consultation on expanding cooperation on infrastructure, education, digital technologies, green industries, etc. through measures including bilateral Directors-General meetings.

2. Hwang Kyung-tae, Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs and the head of the ROK delegation, and Rafael Garranzo García, Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs and the head of the Spanish delegation, noted with satisfaction that the two countries took prompt action to follow up on the summit held two weeks ago. They exchanged opinions on cooperation with Central America including the Northern Triangle countries, the status of the two countries’ development cooperation with Latin America, major issues in Latin America and ways for joint cooperation with the Central American Integration System (SICA).

3. The two sides agreed on the importance of establishing good governance in order to overcome the political, economic, social and health crises that Latin America has been facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

° In particular, Director-General Garranzo welcomed the recent increase in the ROK’s ODA in Latin America and its expanded cooperation with SICA, and appreciated that the ROK has been sharing with Latin American countries its experience in achieving democracy, protecting human rights, and developing the economy.

° In addition, both sides agreed that the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries and the Ibero-American General Secretariat* will jointly organize the 3rd ROK-Ibero America Cooperation Seminar in the second half of this year.

*A Spain-led bloc for regional cooperation among 22 member countries, including 19 Latin American countries, which the ROK joined as an observer in October 2016.

4. Meanwhile, the ROK delegation had a separate discussion with the Ibero-American General Secretariat and agreed on close trilateral cooperation among the foreign ministries of the ROK and Spain and the Ibero-American General Secretariat in the run-up to the seminar later this year.

5. Building upon the momentum for stronger cooperation with Latin America created through the ROK-U.S. summit on May 21, the ROK-Spain summit on June 16 and the ROK-SICA virtual summit on June 25, this directors-general meeting served as an opportunity to expand ROK-Spain joint cooperation with Latin America based on Spain’s leading role in the region* and to develop cooperation among the foreign ministries of the two countries and the Ibero-American General Secretariat.

*As of 2019, Spain won the largest number of infrastructure contracts in Latin America (32.8%, $8.8 billion).