1. At the Seventh Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) held in San Jose, Costa Rica, on August 21 under the slogan of “Two Regions, One Vision,” the Republic of Korea was formally appointed as FEALAC Regional Coordinator for East Asia for the 2015-2017 term.

◦ FEALAC, launched in 1999 to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between East Asia and Latin America, is composed of 36 member states – 16 East Asian and 20 Latin American countries. It is the only consultative mechanism between the two regions, and is one of the three largest inter-regional consultative mechanisms that involve the East Asia region along with APEC and ASEM.

2. As the Regional Coordinator for East Asia, the ROK will host the Eighth FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the country in 2017. At the forthcoming meeting, the Foreign Ministers of the 36 East Asian and Latin American member states are expected to discuss ways to enhance connectivity and strengthen substantive cooperation between the two regions. Hosting the meeting is expected to help enhance the ROK’s diplomatic standing in the international community.

◦ At the Seventh Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, FEALAC member states adopted the Declaration of San Jose, and announced their plan to adopt an Action Plan to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of FEALAC; announced the ROK’s assumption of the role as a Regional Coordinator for the 2015-2017 term; expressed support for the ROK’s plan to host a “Seminar on Inter-regional Trade” in 2016; and appreciated the activities by the Cyber Secretariat, hosted by the ROK, and conveyed support for its proposal to introduce the “FEALAC Project Reivew Survey.”.

3. The ROK government, willing to make the year 2015 a turning point for strengthening its relations with Latin America, has worked to boost its diplomacy in the Pacific Rim region. In this regard, the ROK’s assumption of the role as FEALAC Regional Coordinator for East Asia and its plan to host the Eighth FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting are considered as part of the follow-up measures to its diplomatic plans, which had been highlighted by President Park Geun-hye’s visit to four Latin American countries – Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil – in April 2015. Furthermore, it is expected to serve as an opportunity for the ROK to lead the development of the FEALAC process and further broaden its diplomatic horizon in Latin America.


* unofficial translation