The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Han Duck-soo, gave a keynote address this Tuesday, October 11, at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, where he urged the forging of a new cooperation with Latin America, articulating the innovation experience of their country with the potential of the region, as a vision of the future in the face of the great transformations that humanity is experiencing.
The Korean President spoke at a high-level event that was opened by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, and which was attended by diplomatic authorities from South Korea and the Latin American and Caribbean region, together with representatives of the academy and the United Nations System, among other guests.
In his keynote speech entitled “Vision for the future of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Latin America and the Caribbean in the era of great transformation”, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo recalled that 2022 coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and 15 Latin American countries, “a period marked by the joint path towards freedom, peace and international cooperation”.
“Today we are witnesses of the great transformations that humanity is experiencing. The climate crisis and the pandemic require us to make fundamental changes in the current form of cooperation. The innovation of advanced technologies, such as digital ones, is shaking the foundations that sustain the industrial fabric of each nation. The social gap, which is widening in this process, has become a problem that cannot go unnoticed. Above all, the instability of the global supply chain represents the greatest challenge that we must solve and requires an unusual response from the international community. In the current context, I would like to propose as a vision of the future for the Republic of Korea and Latin America, to forge a new cooperation, articulating the innovation experience of my country with the potential of this region”, he underlined.
The highest representative of South Korea stressed that his country and Latin America are effective partners that contribute to the stability of the global supply chain and expressed his confidence in being able to strengthen bilateral cooperation based on mutual trust.
He specified that South Korea is in a position to provide valuable cooperation that responds to the needs of Latin American countries, not only in response to climate change, which involves the hydrogen economy, agricultural innovation and forest protection, but also in the area of digital innovation.
“This process will be accompanied by the promotion of Official Development Assistance in the digital, health and green sectors, contributing to development and inclusive growth in Latin America,” he stressed.
Han Duck-soo highlighted the efforts that the Korean Government is making to host the World Expo 2030, a meeting that, under the slogan “Transforming the world and sailing towards a better future”, will be held in the city of Busan and will allow Korea and Latin America “share their experiences of growth, takeoff, as well as their technologies, while jointly drawing their vision of the future.”
“South Korea and the countries of Latin America have come over the last 60 years to accumulate understanding, trust and memory. Now is the time to take advantage of the friendship and trust that bind us to accompany each other in the next 60 years, ”she urged.
The Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, for his part, stressed that at a time of growing geopolitical tension and weakening of multilateralism on several fronts, Korea’s commitment to international cooperation, dialogue and support for sustainable transition of developing countries, including as the host country of the Green Climate Fund, is exemplary.
He stressed that Korea’s extraordinary economic development over the last seven decades is truly an inspiration for all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, for ECLAC and for all students of economic development worldwide.
“Since the 1950s, Korea has reinvented itself through state-led transformation, bold innovation strategies and industrial policies, large investments in research and development, forward-looking education and skills development policies, collaborative public -private in strategic sectors and a consistent focus on gaining competitiveness in international markets. Today, Korea is an economic and technological powerhouse and a pioneer in global innovation and the transition to a green economy. Korea’s experience is an invaluable reference to help us understand how to close the development gaps in our region,” said the senior United Nations official.
He specified that with the cumulative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of the war in Ukraine on the global and regional economy, these gaps are widening today: according to ECLAC estimates, the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean will return to the low growth path observed between 2014 and 2019.
“The recovery of the regional GDP to 6.2% in 2021 was transitory and has not been enough to mitigate the social impacts of the pandemic, which has also deepened the structural challenges of the region, such as high informality, low productivity and low investment levels. ECLAC estimates that economic growth in the region will be only 2.7% in 2022”, he warned.
The Executive Secretary of ECLAC pointed out that the economic slowdown also affects the recovery of labor markets, including the labor participation of women, which with 51.1% is still far behind the participation of men with 74.9 %, a difference of almost 25 percentage points.
Also, many governments face challenging fiscal situations and rising levels of debt that limit their ability to address these challenges.
In this context, he stated, “international cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of predominantly middle-income countries, becomes even more urgent. Korea is a valuable partner for development, trade and investment in the region and in the last two decades our cooperation has expanded rapidly”, highlighted the highest representative of ECLAC.
During his speech, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs valued the cooperation program that the Commission maintains with the Republic of Korea, in areas such as trade facilitation, global supply chains, economic security, infrastructure and digitization, as well as emerging issues, such as digital government, nature-based solutions in agricultural production, technologies for adaptation to climate change in cities and the development impacts of the demographic transition.
“At a time of great turbulence in world affairs, both Korea and Latin America and the Caribbean uphold the values of sustainable development, peace, and multilateral cooperation. At ECLAC, we look forward to continuing our valuable development cooperation partnership and helping to bring our region and the Republic of Korea closer together,” he concluded.
Prior to the keynote address, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Han Duck-soo, and the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, held a bilateral meeting in which they discussed deepening the historical ties between the two parts.
