Colombian president arrives in South Korea for state visit
Seoul, Aug 24 (EFE).- The president of Colombia arrived in South Korea on Tuesday for a three-day state visit aimed at promoting economic and health cooperation.
Iván Duque’s plane landed around 9 am at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of the South Korean capital, diplomatic sources confirmed to EFE. He was greeted with an official welcome ceremony.
Before his departure from Bogota, Duque said that the trip would be focused on “securing investment and cooperation in vaccines, health, science and technology.”
Accompanying Duque are the ministers of health, Fernando Ruiz; trade, industry and tourism, María Ximena Lombana; environment, Carlos Correa; energy, Diego Mesa; agriculture, Rodolfo Zea, and culture, Angélica Mayolo, as well as Vice Foreign Minister Franscisco Javier Echeverri and Chief of Staff to the Colombian President María Paula Correa.
He is also accompanied by several businessmen on the visit, during which several cooperation agreements are expected to be signed, including on vaccine technology and health, as well as memoranda of understanding in the fields of culture, economy and agriculture.
Duque is scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, and preside over an investment seminar in Seoul on Wednesday.
On Thursday, he is scheduled to meet the mayor of the Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, and receive an honorary doctorate in economics from Yonsei University.
His trip will conclude with a visit to the War Memorial of Korea, where the participation of Colombia, the only Latin American country to participate in the Korean War (1950-1953), will be honored.
Seoul has invited two war veterans to the country on the occasion of Duque’s visit, during which the repatriation of the remains of Colombian soldiers who died during the war seven decades ago will also be arranged.
The Colombian president is also scheduled to visit the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea during his trip. EFE
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