Vice Finance Minister Discusses Economic Cooperation with CABEI President—Signs Amendment to Technical Cooperation Fund

(Sejong=Yonhap Infomax) Jun Hyung Park – South Korea’s First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, Lee Hyung-il, met with Gisela Sánchez, President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), on the 21st to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 23rd.

This meeting marked President Sánchez’s first visit to South Korea since taking office in December last year.

Both sides signed an amendment to the Korea-CABEI Technical Cooperation Fund agreement.

Vice Minister Lee stated, “This amendment will enhance the operational efficiency of the fund,” and requested CABEI’s active support to help Korean companies expand into the Central American market through the fund.

The Korea-CABEI Technical Cooperation Fund was established to support innovative technology projects for inclusive and sustainable growth in Central American member countries and to share South Korea’s development experience.

President Sánchez highlighted CABEI’s ongoing governance reforms and noted that Standard & Poor’s recently upgraded CABEI’s credit rating from ‘AA’ to ‘AA+’. She expressed hope that this achievement would further strengthen cooperation between the two sides.

Vice Minister Lee also requested an increase in the recruitment of Korean professionals at CABEI.

President Sánchez responded, “Recruiting Korean talent is an important task for CABEI, and we will continue our efforts in this area.”

CABEI, established in 1960, is a multilateral development bank for the Central American region. South Korea holds a 9% stake as a non-regional member.

jhpark6@yna.co.kr

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