Textiles, plants and renewable energy are key areas in which Korea and its Central American partners can build strong bilateral ties, Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyunghwan told entrepreneurs from the Sistema de la Integraci?n Centroamericana (SICA) during a recent visit to Panama. SICA is a regional bloc that covers eight Central American countries?Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Minister Choi was in Panama accompanying President Lee Myung-bak on an official state visit.
The world economy is facing dramatic changes in the post-crisis era and emerging Asian and Central American markets are expected to play an increasingly prominent role, the Minister explained. In this regard, the two sides need to vitalize partnerships in the textile industry to enable Central American countries to create higher-value-added products. Korean businesses also have excellent expertise and skills to facilitate the construction of industrial plants and information technology infrastructure in the Central American region. Lastly, resource-rich Central American countries would benefit immensely from Korea?s advanced green energy technologies.
Since the 1960s, when Korea began establishing diplomatic ties with its Central American partners, economic partnerships have grown consistently. At present, nearly 280 Korean companies are active in Central America and they employ about 100,000 local workers.
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