1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong had a telephone conversation with new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala Mario Adolfo Bucaro Flores on the morning of March 8 at the request of the latter. They exchanged a broad range of views on matters of mutual interest including the bilateral relations, substantive cooperation, and regional affairs.

2. The two Foreign Ministers welcomed the close communication underway between the two countries and agreed to further enhance bilateral cooperation and friendship through various cultural events to mark the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year.

※ Guatemala is one of the main partners of Korea in Central America with the largest overseas Korean economic society in the region. In Guatemala, there are approximately 7,000 overseas Koreans and 150 companies from Korea.

3. Foreign Minister Chung expressed hope to further expand development cooperation in various areas including agriculture, digital transformation, climate resilience, and governance.

° Foreign Minister Chung also expressed hope to continue closely working together for the socio-economic development of Central America, as discussed at the Korea-SICA Summit (June, 2021).

※ Korea pledged to increase its financial commitment to development cooperation with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to $220 million for the 2021-2024 period.

4. Foreign Minister Bucaro expressed appreciation for Korea’s expansion of development cooperation and hoped that the volume of trade and investment between the two countries would grow further through Guatemala’s early accession to the Korea-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

5. The two Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global affairs such as issues on the Korean Peninsula and cooperation on the international issues.

° Foreign Minister Chung requested Guatemala’s support for Korea’s candidacy for the post of the next Director-General of the International Labour Organization.

° Foreign Minister Bucaro stressed Guatemala’s consistent support for the Korean government’s efforts for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.