1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Choi Jong Kun held bilateral meetings with the Vice Ministers of the Republic of Panama, the Republic of Honduras, the Republic of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Belize on October 27 and discussed bilateral relations, substantive cooperation, and cooperation with Central America.

2. At the bilateral meeting with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Costa Rica Adriana Bolaños, Vice Minister Choi congratulated Costa Rica for joining the OECD this year and agreed to implement substantive cooperation on the digital sector, eco-friendly economy, and climate change adaptation, based on the similarity between the Korean New Deal policy and the 「Costa Rica 3D Economic Policy」.

※ Costa Rica is promoting policies to achieve 3D economy (Digitalization, Decarbonization, Decentralization) by 2050.

3. In addition, at the bilateral meeting with Vice Minister for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries of the Republic of Panama Juan Sosa, Vice Minister Choi requested smooth progress of the Metro line 3 project which Korean companies are taking part in, and discussed ways for economic cooperation through Korea-Central America FTA as well as Panama’s new investment attraction plans.

4. At the bilateral meeting with Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Honduras Jose Barahona, Vice Minister Choi expressed hope to expand cooperation on the social and economic development of Honduras as well as Central America through CABEI (headquartered in Honduras), which Korea joined in January 2020, and discussed ways for infrastructure cooperation between the two countries.

° Following the meeting, bilateral meetings with Vice Minister for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic Hugo Rivera and Chief Executive Officer of Foreign Affairs of Belize Amalia Mai were held, respectively. The Vice Ministers exchanged views on ways to further expand cooperation in Central America and the Caribbean region.

5. Meanwhile, on October 27, Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Choi Jong-uk held a bilateral meeting with the U.S. Special Advisor to the Vice President for Central America and officials from the U.S. Department of State, and discussed ways for Korea and the U.S. to closely collaborate on issues regarding cooperation with Central America, which were addressed at the Korea–U.S. Summit on May 21.

6. On October 28, the Vice Ministers from seven Central American countries including those mentioned above and the U.S. Delegation will participate in the 「Korea-Central America Special Roundtable」 which is the first trilateral dialogue platform among Korea, Central America, and the U.S., and discuss future cooperation based on Korea’s diplomatic achievements in Central America this year.