S. Korea to hold virtual summit with Central American states Friday

SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a virtual group summit with the leaders of eight Central American countries this week, his office announced Tuesday.

The fourth South Korea-Central American Integration System summit is scheduled to be held Friday, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.

The Central American Integration System, also known as SICA, is a regional group of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Moon is joining the upcoming event at the invitation of President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica, which is the rotating chair of SICA.

It will mark the first summit talks between South Korea and SICA in 11 years. The inaugural session took place in 1996, the next in 2005 and the third in 2010.

It will also be South Korea's first multilateral summit with Latin American countries under the Moon Jae-in administration.

"President Moon and the leaders of the SICA member states plan to discuss (ways for) inclusive and sustainable economic recovery following COVID-19 and a vision for future cooperation between South Korea and SICA," Park said at a press briefing.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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