Deputy Minister Kim Geon to Visit Mexico from 19th to 21st... Meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister

Resumption of High-Level Face-to-Face Diplomacy Halted by COVID-19... Cooperation for Post-Corona Economic Revitalization

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Kim Geon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, will visit Mexico from the 19th to the 21st and hold talks with Julian Ventura, Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico. Deputy Minister Kim is also scheduled to meet with the president of the Mexico-Korea Parliamentary Friendship Association and hold a meeting with representatives of Korean companies operating in Mexico.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 15th, Deputy Minister Kim's visit to Mexico is the first high-level visit to Latin America by South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. The visit aims to convey the intention to resume high-level face-to-face diplomacy between the two countries, which was suspended due to COVID-19, and to focus on expanding cooperation for post-COVID economic revitalization.

Mexico, the world's 15th largest economy, is South Korea's largest trading partner and investment destination in Latin America. With the recent implementation of the USMCA (the revised NAFTA agreement among the United States, Canada, and Mexico), the activation of global value chains (GVC), and movements to reorganize GVCs, Mexico serves as a strategic foothold for Korean companies entering North American and Latin American markets.

In particular, South Korea and Mexico have been traditional allies since establishing diplomatic relations in 1962, expanding practical cooperation in various fields and establishing a "strategic partnership" in 2005. Through MIKTA, a middle-power consultative group, the two countries have cooperated on global issues on the international stage.

During the COVID-19 situation, starting with a phone call between the foreign ministers of the two countries in March, South Korea has strengthened quarantine and health cooperation by providing humanitarian aid to Mexico, exporting medical and quarantine supplies, and collaborating on clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "During Deputy Minister Kim's visit to Mexico, he plans to hold meetings with political, governmental, and economic figures to discuss various measures to activate trade and investment and expand economic cooperation. He will also strive to resolve difficulties faced by Korean companies operating there and to promote their expansion." The official added, "He will request Mexico's support for Yoo Myung-hee, a candidate who has advanced to the final round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General election."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.