Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in August 1962, Costa Rica and South Korea have had a successful cooperation partnership which was bolstered during the visit of the President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solis, to the Asian country in October 2016.

During last year’s visit, the countries agreed to a Comprehensive Cooperation Alliance that outlined concrete political, economic and other cooperation projects.

 

As a follow-up to this, Irinia Elizondo, director of international cooperation for the Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, began a series of meetings with a delegation from Korea led by Ahn Hyung Ik, division director at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Authorities and experts from both countries are participating in a round meetings from May 25 – 31, 2017 in San José. Discussion center around technical and financial cooperation in education, animal health services, and information and communication technologies.

 

A 4-year Costa Rica-Korea Cooperation Program is being outlined which would allow Costa Rica to become a strategic partner in South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation, said the Foreign Ministry.

Elizondo also brought to the agenda the importance of establishing an office of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Costa Rica.

Korean authorities reiterated their interest in cooperating with Costa Rica, a nation with which it shares democratic values ​​of pacifism, freedom and respect for human rights, and with which a friendly and fraternal friendship has been consolidated over the past 55 years.

Costa Rica – Korea cooperation projects planned for 2017 include the following:

1. Korea Innovation and Technology Development Program, University of Costa Rica. It involves cooperation for US$2 million dollars, and proposes to adopt and apply Korean computer technology in several areas.
2. Project to Strengthen the National System for Quality in Costa Rica. The US$190,000 cooperative initiative would provide the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade technical support to strengthen the conformity assessment program, create a digital quick alerts system for all types of products, and develop knowledge transfer in good practice of standardization, regulation, market surveillance and conformity assessment.

Other initiatives the Korean delegation considered as possible for implementing over the next three years include:

1. A National Science and Technology Information Service (SIN-CYT) –  an expanded computer system for integrated and automated management of activities and services carried out by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and the National Animal Health Service;
2. A project to develop and expand digital resources for learning through mobile technologies; and
3. The design and development of digitized system for the Ministry of Public Education to allow for streamlining processes and decision making.

All projects are consistent with the priorities of the National Development Plan and will have a high impact in terms of the country’s institutional capacities in education, animal health services, and information and communication technology, said the Foreign Ministry.