The 3rd High-Level Forum on Korea-Caribbean Partnership, October 22, 2013


His Excellency Harrison Thompson (해리슨 톰슨), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism of the Bahamas,

Her Excellency Shelley Carrington (셸리 캐링턴), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport of Barbados,

His Excellency Rafael Duluc (라파엘 둘룩), Vice Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic,

His Excellency Dhaneshwar Deonarine (데인쉬와 디오너라인), Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of Guyana,

His Excellency Damion Crawford (다미언 크로포드), State Minister of the Ministry of Tourism of Jamaica,

Her Excellency Diannille Williams (디아닐 윌리엄스), Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism of Saint Kitts and Nevis,

His Excellency Nathaniel Williams (나다니엘 윌리엄스), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,

Distinguished Guests,

I would like to thank all of you for attending the "3rd High-Level Forum on Korea-Caribbean Partnership". I would especially like to express a warm welcome to the government representatives of the Caribbean countries who have traveled from across the globe. I would also like to thank Dr. 조현재, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for kindly co-hosting this Forum.

We all know that the Caribbean region is renowned for its dazzling sunshine. I have no doubt that today’s forum will contribute towards making the partnership between Korea and the Caribbean region every bit as enchanting and extravagant as the Caribbean sunshine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 1962, Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to establish diplomatic relations with Korea. Ever since, Korea has never looked back, continuously promoting relations with its Caribbean friends and exploring wider areas of cooperation. Today, Korea and the Caribbean countries are treasured partners on the multilateral stage, working closely together on a variety of global issues.

Although the population of the Caribbean constitutes only 0.24% of the world population, its contribution on the global stage belies mere demographical statistics. Indeed, the region is famous for continuously punching above its weight when it comes to making its voices heard globally. For example, the share of voting rights of CARICOM on the international stage including the United Nations amounts to 7.3%. As a result, Caribbean countries have been actively contributing to the discussions of the prominent global issues of our time such as climate change and development among others.

Against this backdrop, and with the aim of expanding  mutually beneficial cooperation with the Caribbean countries, the Korean government has been organizing the annual High-Level Forum on Korea-Caribbean Partnership since 2011.

In the 1st and 2nd Forums, issues such as "Developmental Strategies for the Caribbean Region," "Green Growth," "E-Government" and "Renewable Energy" were selected as major topics, and participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas and insights on the ways for Korea and the Caribbean countries to increase cooperation in these fields.

For this year's Forum, tourism has been selected as the main topic, since it is a key industry that both Korea and the Caribbean countries aim to further promote and expand. Thus, we believe this Forum will provide an invaluable opportunity to share and explore the possibility of significantly strengthening cooperation in this area.

As you are all aware, the Caribbean region represents  the world's top tourist destination thanks to the wonderful attractions the nature has bestowed upon them. Korea, too, is gathering much attention as a popular tourist spot, thanks to its electrifying blend of ancient history and modern culture. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a country where thousand-year old palaces and monuments stand tall with the hypnotic rythms of ‘강남스타일’ booming in the background.

With this in mind, I sincerely hope that this Forum will open many new windows for tapping into our vast potential in the field of tourism. I have no doubt that increase in tourist exchanges will naturally lead to expansion of cooperation in various other fields too. 

There is a saying in Korean '백문이 불여일견’ which means "Seeing is believing" or "A picture is worth more than a thousand words." I hope that all of you who have traveled from afar will be able to fully enjoy Korea's beautiful autumn and treasure memories of your visit long into the future.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the participants and the organizers who have made this Forum possible. I am sure all your hard work will bear fruit. 

Thank you.
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