Authorities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea visited ECLAC

The delegation, led by Mr. Jo Yung-joon, Director General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, attended several activities at the Commission’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

A delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea visited the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) headquarters in Santiago, Chile on 13-14 May 2019, and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the Latin American and Caribbean countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ECLAC and the Republic of Korea have closely collaborated in the past years on crucial topics such as internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), reducing environmental footprint of exports and the promotion of sustainable and inclusive urbanization. The delegation was led by Mr. Jo Yung-joon, Director General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, and included Mr. Jun Jaehan, Director for Cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean, Ms. Woo Yoon-min, Desk Officer for ECLAC, and Mr. David Yang, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile.

On Monday 13, Mr. Jo Yung-Joon participated in the opening session of the III CORPYME Training Workshop: Trade Single Windows for the Internationalization of SMEs, organized by ECLAC with the support of the Republic of Korea, along with Mr. Raúl García-Buchaca, ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for Management and Program Analysis, and Ms. Gabriela Orosco, Director General of Trade and Investment Agreements at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, in its capacity as President Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

After that, there was a working meeting with an ECLAC team led by Mr. Raúl García-Buchaca and composed of Mr. Joseluis Samaniego Levy, Director of the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, Ms. Cielo Morales, Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES), Mr. Gerardo Mendoza, Chief of the Project Management Unit of the Programme Planning and Operations Division, and Mr. Keiji Inoue, Senior Economics Affairs Officer of the International Trade and Integration Division. The meeting was an opportunity for ECLAC to present the results obtained through the ongoing Cooperation Programme with the Republic of Korea and exchange views on additional collaboration opportunities for future cooperation.

ECLAC’s International Trade and Integration Division reported on the impacts of the initiatives for strengthening the internationalization of SMEs while ILPES described the achievements obtained for building more inclusive and sustainable cities.

Mr. Jo Yung-joon reiterated Korea’s satisfaction with our joint efforts and highlighted the importance of having ECLAC as a strategic partner in the Latin American and Caribbean region and both parties expressed their intention to further strengthening their strategic alliance.

On Tuesday 14 May, in the framework of this visit, ECLAC hosted a lecture on Smart Factories by Lee Jeong Cheol, from the Korea Productivity Center, with remarks by Julio Pertuzé, Head of the Economy of the Future Office at the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile.