Martial Arts, '24th Korea-Latin America Business Forum' Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA), in collaboration with the Korea-Latin America Association, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), and the Overseas Construction Association, held the "24th Korea-Latin America Business Forum" on the 17th at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong.

This event was organized to mark the completion of the ratification process of the Korea-Central America Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with five Central American countries?Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama?which will take effect in January next year. It also coincides with Korea's accession as an extraregional member of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) in January this year, and the growing need for healthcare cooperation following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attendees included Shin Seung-kwan, Executive Director of KITA; Kim Heung-jong, President of KIEP; Jung Dae-jin, Director General of Trade Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Je Hyeon-jeong, Head of the Trade Support Center at KITA; and Latin America experts such as Manuela Roba, former Director of the Statistics Department at the Argentine Ministry of Health. They discussed local economic trends and industrial cooperation post-COVID-19, as well as strategies for entering the Latin American market in healthcare and untact (contactless) sectors.

Hong Seong-woo, Senior Research Fellow at KIEP, stated, "The Latin American infrastructure market holds a significant position in the economic security leadership competition between the U.S. and China, leading to intensified trade conflicts in the region. If China's market share in Latin America decreases due to escalating conflicts, Korean companies will have more business opportunities."

Shin Seung-kwan, Executive Director of KITA, said, "Despite a slight decrease in trade volume between Korea and Latin America this year, there were clear achievements such as the completion of Panama's ratification process of the Korea-Central America FTA, which will fully come into effect in the five Central American countries starting January next year. We will solidify support projects to minimize export damages to our companies in Latin America amid the global uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."

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