1. On July 26, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun hosted a dinner for the high-level delegation from Bolivia, comprised of leading members of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and on a visit to the Republic of Korea to learn from its development experience. On the occasion, the two sides had an in-depth discussion on ways to work more closely together toward shared prosperity.

º The delegation consists of eight leading members of Bolivia’s Senate and Chamber of Deputies, including the Deputy Speaker of the Senate and the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, and a reporter from a leading broadcaster and a newspaper outlet. During its visit from July 21 through 27, the delegation paid a courtesy call on Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Lee Byung-suk, attended lectures on the ROK’s economic development policies offered by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and made a tour of key industrial sites.

2. Vice Minister Kim voiced his hope that the visit served as an opportunity for Bolivia to learn from the ROK’s successful economic development and use it as reference in setting up various policies for Bolivia’s development. Bolivia’s parliamentarians responded that they would share what they learned in the ROK with other Bolivians and have their parliament work to expand cooperation between the two countries.

3. Vice Minister Kim proposed that the ROK and Bolivia seek shared growth by combining the former’s development experience and technology with the latter’s rich resources. In response, the Bolivian delegation noted that Bolivian President Evo Morale has been pursuing industrialization and food security since January 2013 as two key strategies for national development. It expressed its hope that the visit served as an opportunity for the two countries to pursue various cooperation projects in the sectors of infrastructure, plant and agriculture.

4. The two sides brought attention to the popularity of K-pop among Bolivian youth and agreed to expand cultural exchanges in a bid to promote mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.

5. The Bolivian government will reopen its embassy in the ROK, which was withdrawn in 1999, in the second half of this year to boost substantive cooperation with the ROK.

º The ROK reopened its embassy in Bolivia in 2008 after withdrawing it in 1998 in the wake of its financial crisis.

                           Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation