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

All News 15:24 June 22, 2021

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in last 7 paras; ADDS photo, byline)
By Lee Chi-dong

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.

President Moon Jae-in holds a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on June 22, 2021. (Yonhap)

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.

She pointed out the strategic importance of the Central American region.

It is a "geographical and economic hub connecting North and South America and an advanced base for South Korean companies to enter the U.S. market," she added.

The South Korea-Central America free trade agreement has already taken effect, and South Korea joined the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) as a non-regional member last year.

The Central American region accounted for around 20 percent of overseas construction deals won by South Korean firms in 2020, according to Park.

Friday's summit is also a chance for "sales diplomacy," she said, citing such ongoing projects as Costa Rica's plan for the electric passenger train of the greater metropolitan area and Dominican Republic's push for natural gas-fueled thermal power plant construction.

In the summit, Moon will assess South Korea-SICA cooperation so far and present ways to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, expand comprehensive cooperation based on the green and digital sectors and help overcome the coronavirus crisis in the SICA region, Park said.

SICA is designed to promote the economic, social, cultural and political development of the member countries in a balanced, harmonious and sustainable way.