Statement of the Korean Delegation
34th Session of the Commission (ECLAC]
San Salvador, 28 August, 2012
Honorable Chairperson and Distinguished representatives of all member states,
First of all, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea, I'd like to extend my sincere gratitude to the government of El Salvador for hosting the 34th session of the ECLAC. My sincere appreciation also goes to Executive Secretary Bárcena for successful preparations of the meeting and insightful presentation this morning.
With regard to the presentation by ECLAC about the work of the ECLAC system for the year 2014 to 2015, and especially about the subprogramme 1, the Korean delegation thoroughly agrees that the cooperation between Asia and the Pacific is of great importance, and supports the efforts of the ECLAC bolstering integration of the Latin American region.
Honorable Chairperson and Distinguished representatives,
Along with Asia, Latin America has become the growth engine of the international economy, and has shown remarkable growth amid unfavorable economic situation of the world. Also, the trade volume between Korea and Latin America has doubled in the last five years. The fact that President Lee Myung-bak has visited Latin American countries three times during his tenure clearly shows that Korea is placing very much importance on this region.
Honorable Chairperson and Distinguished representatives,
As you all are well aware, Korea once was a country that relied upon the economic support of other nations, but now it has turned into a donor country of ODAs. Korea is willing and ready to share our experience and cooperate with Latin American countries in setting a future vision for their economic development. In order to realize this, Korea is running "Knowledge Sharing Program", providing consultations to governments in public policies, and is operating various funds through OAS, IDB, SICA, etc to support the Latin American countries in fighting poverty and fostering small and medium enterprises.
Also, Korea understands well that security is one of the most important issues in the region. To jointly address the issue, Korea held a seminar on the cooperation on security of Central America last July, inviting ministers of security from Central American nations.
Honorable Chairperson and Distinguished representatives,
Korea believes that ECLAC is serving a pivotal role in the cooperation of Korea and Latin America as it is a cradle of numerous research projects that connect Korea and Latin America, and further Latin America with Asia. ECLAC is now serving as "resource center" for the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation(FEALAC) Vision Group in providing data and/or research for the group, paving the way for stronger integration between East Asia and Latin America.
Furthermore, Korea and ECLAC signed an MOU on cooperation last May, which will serve as a platform for stronger bonds of cooperation in various fields such as exchange of information and experts, joint research projects.
Honorable Chairperson and Distinguished representatives,
To sum up, Korea is eager to continue to contribute for the ECLAC to take central role in supporting economic development of Latin America, and hopes that our concerted efforts will lead us to deepening of cooperation and mutual understanding, not only in Latin America but also between Latin America and Korea. Thank you.
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