The Ministry of Foreign Affairs dispatched the ‘Latin America Infrastructure Cooperation Delegation’ to Ecuador and Panama from December 9 to 12, led by Kim Jin-hae, the government representative for CARICOM. The delegation included officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), National Railroad Corporation, and the International Contractors Association of Korea.
The Latin America Economic Cooperation Delegation is a project that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been conducting since 2009 to discover cooperation projects with Latin American countries and support the advancement of Korean companies. Each year, 2-3 key cooperation areas are selected, and relevant institutions and companies visit Latin American countries.
In Ecuador, the delegation held the ‘Korea-Ecuador Infrastructure Cooperation Seminar’ to listen to policy trends for attracting public-private partnership (PPP) projects from the Ecuadorian government and to introduce Korea’s infrastructure cooperation status and strategies in Latin America, as well as opportunities for Korean companies. Additionally, Kim Jin-hae met with Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, to discuss road sector cooperation projects.
In Panama, the delegation participated in the ‘Korea-Central America Trade and Investment Forum’ to introduce the current status and strategies of Korea-Central America infrastructure cooperation and to promote Korea’s railway capabilities. Kim Jin-hae also met with Cesar Pinzon, Director of the Metro, and Henry Faarup, Secretary General of the National Railroad Office, to request cooperation in railway construction. The delegation visited major infrastructure project sites in Ecuador and Panama to discuss cooperation plans.