By Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first summit with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso on the morning of September 21.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Ecuador's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon expressed his pleasure to hold his first bilateral meeting since taking office with President Lasso, who has deep ties to Korea as he served as the Honorary Consul of Korea in Guayaquil, Ecuador (December 2000-July 2006), and expressed his hope that the horizons of future-oriented practical cooperation between Korea and Ecuador will be further expanded based on the momentum of bilateral cooperation created on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year.

In particular, President Yoon praised the smooth progress of the bilateral consultations on the signing of the Korea-Ecuador Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA). 

In response, President Lasso emphasized that the signing of the agreement will provide an opportunity to maximize the complementarities of the two economies, including expanding bilateral trade and investment and strengthening cooperation in the supply chain sector.

President Yoon also expressed President Lasso's interest and support for the highway construction project connecting three cities in Ecuador, in which Korea Expressway Corporation is participating.

On the occasion of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to further enhance bilateral exchanges and continue to identify cooperative projects that will benefit the two economies.