On the Occasion of the Colombian President's Visit to Korea
Korea-Colombia Trade and Investment Forum and Energy Ministers' Meeting Held
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Korea and Colombia have agreed to closely cooperate on energy transition to transform their energy systems into clean energy centered on renewable energy and hydrogen.
On the afternoon of the 25th, Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, held talks with Diego Mesa Puyo, Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia, at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, discussing ways to strengthen cooperation between Korea and Colombia in the field of clean energy.
At the meeting, Minister Moon explained that the Korean government is actively promoting energy transition policies to shift the energy system, which has been centered on fossil fuels, to clean energy such as renewable energy and hydrogen.
Minister Mesa introduced that the Colombian government also declared carbon neutrality by 2050 last year and is actively promoting policies to expand renewable energy centered on solar and wind power. He added that in the second half of this year, Colombia plans to announce a 'National Hydrogen Economy Implementation Roadmap' focusing on hydrogen production, hydrogen mobility and charging infrastructure expansion, and promotion of technology development.
In response, Minister Moon proposed actively discovering and promoting mutually beneficial cooperative projects that leverage the strengths of both countries, such as Colombia's hydrogen production conditions and Korea's technological capabilities and dissemination experience in hydrogen utilization.
Both countries reached a consensus that international cooperation and collaboration are essential to respond to climate change and achieve carbon neutrality, and agreed to cooperate more closely in the future process toward carbon neutrality goals.
Prior to the energy ministers' meeting, Minister Moon also attended the Korea-Colombia Trade and Investment Forum. This event was held as an economic event for state guests, coinciding with the state visit of Colombian President Iv?n Duque M?rquez.
On this occasion, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bogot? Chamber of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the 'Korea-Colombia Economic Cooperation Committee,' aiming to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries through regular mutual cooperation projects and investment briefings.
In his congratulatory speech, Minister Moon evaluated that the Korea-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into effect in 2016, has greatly contributed to expanding trade and investment between the two countries. He outlined the directions for expanding economic cooperation between Korea and Colombia as follows: expanding trade by increasing utilization of the Korea-Colombia FTA; cooperation in future advanced fields such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, and future automobiles; and close health cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, thereby revitalizing the economy and expanding trade, investment, and development.
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