Strengthening Research and Development of Materials Utilizing Costa Rica's Biological Resources

Ministry of Science and ICT and Costa Rica Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications Sign MOU

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Taking advantage of the Korea-Costa Rica summit held on the 23rd, South Korea will strengthen its science and technology cooperation with Costa Rica.

On the same day, Lim Hye-sook, Minister of Science and ICT, signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on science and technology cooperation with Paola Vega Castillo, Minister of Science, Innovation, Technology, and Telecommunications of Costa Rica. This MOU is the first revision since it was signed in 2016, and through this revision, specific cooperation areas such as biotechnology, which are common interests of both countries, were established. Additionally, the basis for holding the Korea-Costa Rica Joint Committee on Science and Technology, a cooperative consultative body between the two countries, was specified to enable regular meetings in the future. Previously, the two countries held the 1st Korea-Costa Rica Joint Committee on Science and Technology on July 23.

Furthermore, the two countries plan to discover and expand joint cooperative projects that can produce outcomes together in various fields, including the key cooperation areas of the MOU such as biotechnology. In this regard, at the Korea-Costa Rica summit held on the same day, the two leaders agreed to expand research and development cooperation in the field of biodiversity through the Korea-Costa Rica Biological Materials Research Center.

The Overseas Biological Materials Center of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology established the Korea-Costa Rica Biological Materials Research Center at Costa Rica’s Biodiversity Institute (INBio) in 2008 and has been conducting joint research using various biological materials from Costa Rica for the development of natural product drugs, health functional foods, and cosmetics. Taking this summit as an opportunity, the research scope with INBio will be expanded to include various biological materials such as microorganisms and animals, as well as plants, and a physical resource and information bank will be established. It is expected to contribute to industrialization support through the operation of pilot cultivation complexes and to strengthen mutual scientific and technological capabilities and promote a reciprocal relationship by operating researcher exchanges and training programs between the two countries.

Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Based on the revision of this MOU and the discussion on expanding cooperation in the field of biodiversity, we will discover and promote practical cooperative projects between the two countries to further solidify the cooperative relationship."