Park meets with Canadian and Mexican foreign ministers on the sidelines of APEC to discuss practical cooperation.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is pictured in a commemorative photo with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly at the APEC Summit in San Francisco, U.S., on November 15. (Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) November 19, 2023/News1

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, U.S., Foreign Minister Park Jin held ministerial meetings with Canada and Mexico, discussing substantial cooperation between the countries and the global political climate.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Park met with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on November 15 (local time) and agreed to accelerate the implementation of follow-up measures after the summits held in September last year and May this year.

Ministers Park and Joly also evaluated ongoing discussions on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region through various levels of consultation as both South Korea and Canada are ‘North Pacific nations.’ They agreed to continue developing cooperation in the North Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions as they mark the first anniversary of each country’s Indo-Pacific strategy announcement.

The two sides also discussed issues including North Korea, the war in Ukraine, and the military conflict between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel.

In particular, Minister Park expressed his gratitude for the special interest and support shown by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the North Korean human rights issue through his speech at our National Assembly last May.

In response, Minister Joly said, “Canada recognizes the importance of resolving the Korean Peninsula issue and promoting human rights in North Korea,” and pledged to continue close consultations to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation in this regard.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin is pictured in a commemorative photo with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena Ibarra at the APEC Summit in San Francisco, U.S., on November 15. (Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) November 19, 2023/News1

Minister Park also held a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena Ibarra on the same day.

Minister Park said, “Trade volume has surpassed $20 billion last year, indicating that the commercial relationship between the two countries is getting stronger,” and asked for the Mexican government’s interest and cooperation in resuming the South Korea-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, initiating negotiations for South Korea’s accession to the Pacific Alliance as an associate member, and concluding negotiations for the revision of the South Korea-Mexico Investment Protection Agreement.

Minister Park also praised the participation of our companies in Mexico’s ‘Dos Bocas refinery project.’

In response, Minister Bárcena expressed her hope that Korean companies with excellent technical skills and experience would participate in the construction of 10 industrial complexes and the ‘Pacific-Atlantic Canal’ project that Mexico is promoting, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, Minister Park had meetings with Nick Clegg, Head of Global Affairs at Meta, and Will Marshall, CEO of Planet Labs, leading U.S. companies in the fields of artificial intelligence and space.

Minister Park also met with Ian Bremmer, Chairman of Eurasia Group, and exchanged views on strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance, economic security and technological cooperation, and the Group of Seven (G7).

ntiger@news1.kr