[News Article] Colombian President emphasizes cooperation across Americas and Korea
Colombian President emphasizes cooperation across Americas and Korea Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez
speaks during the Colombia-Korea: Commercial strategies for the Americas forum
organized by the chambers of commerce in Bogota and Seoul and the Colombian
Embassy in Korea. The forum was held virtually. [SCREEN CAPTURE] By Esther Chung, Korea JoongAng Daily - Colombian President Iván Duque
Márquez emphasized growing opportunities in trade and investment across the
Americas and Korea in an online conference hosted Wednesday by the chambers of
commerce in Bogota and Seoul and the Embassy of Colombia in Korea. “Colombia, the United States
and Korea have been brother nations since the time we fought together in the
Korean War,” President Duque said upon joining the online forum Colombia-Korea:
Commercial strategies for the Americas. “We have a history of standing
side by side in a difficult time, and I believe that the three nations can join
forces in the same spirit in this time of the pandemic […] and emerge with more
competitive edge in our markets,” said President Duque. Near-shoring was one of the
ideas put forward by the president during the forum, as well as by executives
of the American Chambers of Commerce in Seoul and Bogota, Korea Chamber of
Commerce and Bogota Chamber of Commerce. “We are seeing a growing
interest [among foreign investors] in the pharmaceutical and agro-industrial
sectors in Colombia,” said María Claudia Lacouture, executive director of
American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Colombia, in response to a question
during the forum about which sectors of Colombian market can function as hub to
the Americas. “I think there are [several]
areas where we can see synergy, considering the markets of Colombia, Korea and
the United States,” said James Kim, chairman and CEO of Amcham in Korea. “One
is digital transformation. Different companies have responded to the pandemic
with digital transformation of many levels. Everyone is talking about digital
transformation, but not many know how to execute it. I think that’s an area
that Colombia could focus on. “Green growth is a hot item
everywhere these days,” Kim added. “President [Joe] Biden and President Moon
[Jae-in] are talking about it, and Colombia also unveiled a green road map last
year. [...] This would be another area to see collaboration among the three
countries going forward.” Korea and Colombia signed an
FTA five years ago, the third of those signed between Korea and a Latin
American nation. Trade between Korea and Colombia grew from $12.8 billion in
2016 to $18.6 billion in 2019, according to Amcham Korea. Some 20 Korean
companies, such as Hyosung, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Posco
International, have invested in Colombia, according to the chamber of commerce. The two nations will be
celebrating their 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. “As we discuss our next 20
years of Korea-Colombia commercial relations, the discussion will not only be
about the two nations, but a dialogue between continents,” said Juan Carlos
Caiza, ambassador of Colombia to Korea. The forum was also joined by
Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism José Manuel Restrepo,
Executive President of Bogota Chamber of Commerce Nicolás Uribe Rueda, Vice
President of Korea Chamber of Commerce Woo Tae-hee, Chairperson of Presidential
Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution of Korea Yoon Sung-roh and
Executive President of Procolombia Flavia Santoro. Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/04/21/national/diplomacy/colombiakoreaunited-states-nearshoring-trade-and-investment/20210421174100384.html
2021.04.22