Bang Gi-seon "Central American Economic Integration Bank Korea Office, a New Bridgehead for Korea-Central America Cooperation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Bang Gi-seon, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, met with Dante Mossi, President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), at the CABEI Korea office located in Yeouido, Seoul on the 11th, to discuss directions for Korea-Central America economic cooperation.

CABEI is a multilateral development bank established in 1960 to invest in balanced development and economic integration in Central America, currently with 15 member countries. The CABEI Korea office, which held its completion ceremony that day, is the second regional office of an international financial institution hosted by Korea, following the World Bank (WB).

The meeting was arranged as President Dante Mossi visited Korea to attend the CABEI Korea Week event aimed at revitalizing economic cooperation between Korean and Central American institutions and companies. Discussions during the meeting covered cooperation plans between Korea and CABEI as well as the roles and functions of the Korea office. Vice Minister Bang also requested CABEI’s support for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid, to which President Mossi expressed his willingness to support, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In his congratulatory remarks, Vice Minister Bang said, "We expect this to become a foothold that opens a new horizon for friendship and cooperation between Korea and Central America," adding, "We will ensure that Korea’s world-class technologies related to transportation, environment, and energy are transferred to the highly growth-potential Central American market, which is rich in resources and has a young population structure."

Vice Minister Bang further stated, "In addition to direct financial support such as trust funds, concessional loans, and credit, we will also explore various support measures including the entry of public institutions into Central America and the issuance of infrastructure bonds in Korea," and added, "We aim to enable capable Korean youth to advance into CABEI and Central American companies across various sectors, and based on this, cultivate economic cooperation experts between the two regions to establish a foundation for long-term cooperation."

After the meeting, Vice Minister Bang and President Dante Mossi signed the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF)-CABEI concessional loan facility agreement. The EDCF is a concessional aid fund established in 1987 to support economic development in developing countries and promote economic cooperation with Korea.

With the signing of the agreement, the concessional loan limit was increased by $200 million, the term extended by three years, and additional projects worth $340 million can be discovered until January 2025.

At the signing ceremony, Vice Minister Bang said, "I hope the EDCF-CABEI concessional loan facility will serve as a catalyst for infrastructure projects in transportation, water resources, ICT, and other sectors being promoted for the development of the Central American region," to which President Dante Mossi responded, "It will play an important role in building infrastructure and economic growth in the Central American region in the future."

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