Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Seek to Strengthen Economic and Infrastructure Cooperation with Seven Central American Countries

High-ranking officials from seven Central American countries and Korean businesspeople gathered to explore economic cooperation measures for the Central American region, which is emerging as a new market.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly held the "2024 Korea-Central America Trade and Investment Forum" on the 28th in Seoul, inviting senior officials from seven Central American countries and key partners in Central American development cooperation, including the United States, Mexico, and Spain. The forum was attended by more than 150 related organizations and companies interested in entering Central America, including the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Korea International Trade Association, National IT Industry Promotion Agency, Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Support Corporation, Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation, and Korea Federation of SMEs.

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, emphasized the importance of the Central American region as a production and trade hub in the Americas during his opening remarks. He also expressed expectations that Central America, with its abundant resources and large young population, and Korea, with its cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors and AI, will become partners creating synergy based on complementary industrial structures.

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (fifth from the right in the first row), is taking a commemorative photo with participants at the "2024 Korea-Central America Trade and Investment Forum" held on the 28th at the SME DMC Tower in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Jung Byung-won, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated in his opening address that the Central American region is attracting attention as an attractive market with growth potential due to its geographical advantage as a transportation and logistics hub, expanded infrastructure investment, and increasing young consumer population. He added that Korea will continue to narrow the economic distance with the Central American region based on the Korea-Central America Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and membership in multilateral financial institutions such as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

Alejandro Solano, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, evaluated the signing of the Korea-Central America FTA accession protocol by Guatemala in January this year in his congratulatory remarks. He expressed hope that economic cooperation between Korea and Central America will deepen in various fields such as infrastructure, digital, energy, and resources, and that Korean companies possessing innovative technologies and capabilities will expand their entry into Central America.

In the first session (Expanding Korea-Central America Trade and Investment Cooperation), Central American officials, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the U.S. PCA participated to discuss ways to expand trade and investment between Korea and Central America in key areas such as automobiles and parts, electrical and electronic products, building materials, and medical devices amid the accelerating restructuring of global supply chains.

In the second and third sessions (Strengthening Cooperation for Sustainable Development in the Central American Region), Central American officials, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Support Corporation, Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation, and Korea Federation of SMEs participated to introduce major cooperative projects and areas of interest. They also exchanged opinions on ways to expand Korean companies’ entry into Central America in sectors such as information and communication technology, infrastructure, energy and resources, and SMEs.

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