1. On October 28, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the first “Korea-Central America Special Roundtable.” It was chaired by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun and joined by Vice Ministers of seven Central American countries* and a delegation of the Office of the U.S. Vice President and the U.S. Department of State.

* The Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Costa Rica, the Republic of Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, the Republic of El Salvador, the Republic of Honduras and Belize as well as the Vice Minister of Commerce and Industries of the Republic of Panama

2. In his opening remarks, Vice Minister Choi took note of this year as a special year that has seen dynamic development of cooperation between Korea and Central America through the Korea-SICA Vice-Ministerial meeting on Dialogue and Cooperation (April, 2021) held in 6 years and the Korea-SICA Summit (June, 2021) in 11 years. He also highlighted this Special Roundtable as an opportunity to reaffirm the Korean government’s will to further expand its cooperation with Central America.

※ The Central American Integration System (SICA, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana): SICA, comprised of eight Central American countries, is a regional organization launched in 1991 with the goal of integrating and developing Central America. Korea joined it as a non-regional observer in 2012.

3. In the first session on the current status of cooperation between Korea and Central America, Vice Minister Choi spoke highly of the qualitative development in the cooperative relations between Korea and Central America achieved through active high-level exchanges as well as by △seeking strategic cooperation with the U.S., Spain and Mexico, △expanding cooperation platforms -- refinancing the Korea-SICA cooperation fund and promoting the establishment of a Korea-SICA cooperation center, and △deepening and expanding cooperation for sustainable and inclusive recovery.

4. In the second session, participants discussed in depth a detailed plan for “comprehensive cooperative relations for a better future” agreed upon in the Korea-SICA summit in June.

° The Vice Ministers from Central America noted with appreciation Korea’s cooperation effort for the inclusive and sustainable development of Central America. Furthermore, they hoped to expand and advance cooperation with Korea in △trade and investment, △agriculture, △eco-friendly infrastructure, △digital government, etc.

° Lastly, the third session is seen to have enhanced the seven Central American countries’ understanding on and reaffirmed their support for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, the session touched on ways to boost cooperation regarding common global challenges such as climate change, regional issues such as those regarding Central American immigration, etc. 

5. This meeting gave the perception to the Central American countries and the U.S. that Korea is a partner in good faith for cooperation with and development of Central America. Additionally, the Korea-led trilateral “Korea-Central America Special Roundtable” among Korea, Central America and the U.S. has been recognized as a new practical dialogue platform.

° Especially, the seven Vice Ministers from Central America visited Korea exclusively in order to participate in this meeting and showed their high expectations on bolstering cooperation between Korea and the Central American countries.

° Moreover, throughout this meeting, the U.S. delegation saw for itself the current relations between Korea and the Central American countries, which expressed appreciation for and requested further cooperation of Korea. As such, the event is seen to have served as an opportunity for Korea and the U.S. to develop more specific ways to work together with regard to cooperation with Central America.

6. Based on the progress made in the “Korea-Central America Special Roundtable” among Korea, Central America and the U.S., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the meeting on a regular basis in order to further develop a plan for strategic cooperation with Central American countries along with friendly countries such as the U.S., Spain and Mexico, and regional organizations such as SICA, CABEI, etc.