1. The tenth Republic of Korea-Japan-China meeting of directors-general for Latin American affairs will take place in Beijing, China, on January 25. On the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, the 14th of its kind between the ROK and China, and between the ROK and Japan will also be held.

° The ROK, Japanese and Chinese delegations to the meetings will be led by Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Lim Ki-mo of the Foreign Ministry and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Yasushi Takase and Zhu Qingqiao, respectively. Director-General Lim, together with his Japanese counterpart, will pay a courtesy call on Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao.

2. In the forthcoming trilateral meeting, the three countries will exchange views on the current political and economic situations in Latin America and moves by such major regional organizations as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). In addition, they will discuss their respective foreign policies toward the region.

° The three countries will also exchange views on their achievements in high-level diplomacy toward Latin America and ways to step up substantive cooperation across the board with the countries in the region.

° In particular, the three will discuss ways to work together to make a success of the eighth FEALAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) to be hosted by the ROK in 2017.

3. The upcoming meeting is expected to serve as an opportunity for the ROK, Japan and China to reaffirm the significance of their trilateral cooperation on matters regarding Latin America, a region drawing attention as an emerging global market, as well as their commitment to continued trilateral cooperation for the development of FEALAC, thereby contributing to the ROK’s efforts to strengthen diplomacy toward Latin America.


* unofficial translation