By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Park Sang-woo attended a meeting in Seoul organized by the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) in Korea and infrastructure and other issues of mutual interest on April 3.

The meeting was organized at the request of the Ambassador of Panama, who represented the Diplomatic Corps of Latin America in Seoul, to discuss cooperation in the construction and infrastructure sectors between Korea and Latin America. Minister Park met with ambassadors from 12 Latin American countries.

Park noted that Brazil was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1059, and since 1971, when Korean companies entered the Latin American construction market with piping work for a Dominican oil refinery, the two countries have maintained friendly and cooperative relations over the past 60 years.

In particular, he said that the ministry will cooperate to ensure the smooth progress of the Panama Metro Line 3 construction project and the PMO project for the construction of the new airport in Chinchero, Peru. He also urged the Latin American ambassadors to take an interest in utilizing Korea's excellent infrastructure technology for major projects in Latin America.

"I hope that today's meeting will serve as an opportunity to strengthen friendship and cooperation between Korea and Latin America," said Park, who discussed infrastructure cooperation with the Chilean Minister of Public Works last month. "As Latin America is an emerging market, we will strengthen communication and cooperation with Latin American diplomatic corps so that Korean companies can actively enter the construction and transportation infrastructure fields such as airport construction and metro."