1. The 10th Korea-SICA (Central American Integration System) Meeting on Dialogue and Cooperation 
was held in El Salvador on October 13.

2. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Suk-hwan attended the meeting as the head of the Korean 
delegation, while the delegations from the eight SICA member states were led by vice-ministerial 
or other high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials of those countries.

3. The Meeting dealt with major matters of mutual concern, including ways to promote trade and 
investment as well as cooperation between the two regions on development, and information and 
communications technology (ICT), and at international organizations such as the UN. Hailing 
Korea’s bid to join SICA as one of its non-regional observers, the SICA countries agreed to expedite 
the necessary relevant procedures, including the conclusion of an agreement on Korea’s accession.
In view of the recent emergence of Latin America’s security situation as a global issue, the two sides 
agreed to step up cooperation in the security field and work together in ensuring the safety of Korean 
residents and businesses in Latin America.

° After the Meeting, Vice Minister Park and the top delegates from the eight countries signed a joint 
declaration, followed by a joint press conference by the heads of the Korean and El Salvadorian 
delegations.

° In addition, Korea and SICA concluded a memorandum of understanding calling for the implementation 
of a cooperation fund project.

4. On the sidelines of the Korea-SICA Meeting, Vice Minister Park met bilaterally with his counterparts 
from El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Honduras for discussions on matters of mutual concern.

5. Korea took the opportunity of the Meeting to further consolidate substantive cooperation with its long-
standing friends in Latin America, especially by expressing its willingness to work together with those 
countries on their major issues of interest, including security and development cooperation.

6. Following the 10th Korea-SICA Meeting on Dialogue and Cooperation, Vice Minister Park will visit 
Costa Rica and Bolivia for meetings on major bilateral issues.

                   Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation