- Seeking robust collaboration between the two countries in the Korean Digital New Deal and digital transformation in the LAC region
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minister Chung Eui-yong) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Choi Kiyoung) will co-host a “Korea-LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) Digital Cooperation Forum” under the theme of “Partnership towards Digital Innovation and Inclusiveness” at the Lotte Hotel Seoul for two days from March 17 (Wed) to March 18 (Thur).
※ The largest annual event in regard to the LAC region that has been hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2008, as part of the "Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum"
The forum is the first international conference in digital area to be hosted by the Korean government since its announcement of the comprehensive plan for the Korean New Deal Initiative. The government plans to seek to globalize the Korean New Deal policy to LAC through government-wide cooperation.
The forum will be held in a hybrid online and offline format where eight Minister-and Vice-Minister-level officials* from five LAC countries, including Ministers of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil and Colombia will visit Korea. In addition, nine high-level officials from seven countries, which are Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia and Argentina will virtually deliver presentations and join discussions.
* Officials visiting Korea (8 officials): (Minister-level)▴Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano Quirós ▴Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo Vila ▴Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Marcos Cesar Pontes ▴Colombia’s Minister of Rural Development Rodolfo Zea Navarro / (Vice-Minister-level)▴Guatemala’s Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Martínez Alvarado ▴Guatemala’s Vice Foreign Minister Shirley Aguilar Barrera ▴Honduras’s Vice Minister of Public Innovation José Mario Reyes Hernández ▴Colombia’s Vice Minister of Creative Economy Adriana Padilla Leal at the Ministry of Culture
From the Korean side, officials and experts from the government, public institutions and relevant companies will participate in the forum. The participants will include officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Korea Information Society Development Institute, the Institute for Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation, the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, Korea Land and Geospatial Informatrix Corporation and LG CNS.
In addition, government agencies, experts and regional organizations related to digital transformation in 33 LAC countries will view and take part in online discussions real time.
The opening ceremony on March 17, the first day of the forum will feature opening remarks by Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong, welcoming remarks by Minister of Science and ICT Choi Kiyoung, and congratulatory remarks by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica Rodolfo Solano, followed by presentations and discussions on "Korea-LAC Cooperation on Digital Transformation in Preparing for the Future" in Session 1 and on "5G Network Collaboration" in Session 2.
On March 18, the second day of the forum, the participants will discuss “Cooperation on Digital Government and Cyber Security” in Session 3 and “Collaboration on Smart Cities and Smart Farms” in Session 4.
The forum will serve as an opportunity to share with LAC the values of innovation and inclusiveness in the digital field, one of Korea’s strengths, to meet LAC countries’ demand for pursuing collaboration and support Korean companies to enter the LAC market.
In addition, the visit to Korea by high-level officials of LAC countries despite the COVID-19 situation demonstrates their will to cooperate actively with Korea and is expected to contribute greatly to advancing Korea-LAC relations by boosting in-person diplomacy with LAC.
In strict compliance with the COVID-19 infection control requirements of the government, the forum will be held with a limited number of on-site participants. For those wishing to watch the forum, it will be available for viewing online real time after registering at the website of the Korea-LAC Digital Cooperation Forum at k-lacdcf.or.kr.
More details regarding the forum are available on the forum’s Instagram page at @k_lacdcf and Kakao Talk channel at 2021 Korea-LAC Digital Cooperation Forum.
For further information, please contact Senior Deputy Director Park Chiseon (E-mail : cspark99@korea.kr) of the MInistry of Science and ICT.