Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon successfully completed promotion activities to host the Busan World Expo 2030 in Miami and Panama, USA, and joined the presidential special delegation from the 28th local time to actively target major Latin American countries.
Mayor Park met with President Bukele and Vice President Uyoa in El Salvador and President Chavez and Foreign Minister Andre in Costa Rica for two days from the 28th to the 29th local time.
Through this event, he conveyed President Yun Seok-yeol’s will and will to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
In addition, he proposed long-term and continuous cooperation rather than short-term profits, taking the opportunity of the negotiation process for the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo.
Specifically, Mayor Park held a meeting with El Salvador’s Vice President Uyoa on the 28th local time as a city with the world’s only UN Peace Park. He emphasized that it is of utmost importance to lay a foundation to promote long-term common interests between the Republic of Korea and El Salvador and between Busan and El Salvador.
They discussed not only the coffee industry and tourism industry, but also digital financial cooperation such as block chain, and further proposed to achieve practical cooperation such as human resource exchange with public officials in El Salvador.
Next, he met with El Salvador President Bukele and explained in detail the history of Busan’s development, future-oriented development plans, and the strengths and preparations as a candidate city for the 2030 Busan World Expo. He said that he would do his best to make this happen.
In response, President Bukele said that Korea and El Salvador are friends and partners, and he hopes that the two countries will continue to strengthen their cooperation. It was agreed that the city had the right conditions to host the fair.
Then, the presidential special delegation, including Mayor Park, began their tour of Costa Rica by meeting with Foreign Minister Andre of Costa Rica from the 29th local time. Minister Andre mentioned that Costa Rica and Korea share many common values, such as the rule of law, respect for human rights, multilateralism, and the need for economic and social development, which are universal values ββof mankind.
This year is also a special year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Costa Rica and Korea.
Mayor Park also cited the research result that Costa Rica has the highest progress index among Latin American countries, and said that in this respect, Costa Rica and the Republic of Korea and Busan and Costa Rica are great partners who share goals and visions. He also mentioned that Costa Rica considers it to be a strategic partner that can closely cooperate with smart cities as well as maritime, cultural, and human resource exchanges.
After the meeting with Minister Andre, the presidential envoy met with the President of Costa Rica, Chavez.
Mayor Park actively explained the strengths of Busan, the hopeful host city of the 2030 Busan World Expo, and suggested cooperation in areas highly related to Costa Rica, such as shipbuilding, tourism, film, culture, and semiconductors.
In response, President Chavez assessed that Korea’s important growth factor lies in pursuing policies with a long-term perspective, and he hoped to share Korea’s experiences for the economic development of Costa Rica.
The presidential special delegation said that the meeting with the highest-ranking officials in El Salvador and Costa Rica created a friendly atmosphere between the two countries, and is of great significance in that it laid the foundation for supporting the Busan World Expo 2030 and strengthening substantive cooperation.
