FM Cho discusses bilateral ties, economic cooperation with Peruvian, Honduran counterparts

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held talks with his counterparts from Peru and Honduras on Sunday and discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation, among other issues, his office said.

The talks took place as the two diplomats were visiting Seoul to attend a multilateral forum on cooperation between South Korea and Latin America, set for Monday.

In the talks with Peru's top diplomat, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco, Cho took note of the fact that the two countries have been expanding their partnership in the defense sector and asked for Peru's attention to South Korea's FA-50 light attack aircraft, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release.

Gonzalez-Olaechea reaffirmed expectations for further development in defense cooperation and said his country is also seeking investment from South Korean battery and electric vehicle companies given Peru's abundant workforce and market.

Gonzalez-Olaechea also asked South Korea to ease visa requirements for Peruvians to boost people-to-people exchanges.

In Sunday's talks, the two countries also signed an agreement on climate change partnership, under which they committed to accelerating carbon neutrality in a range of related fields from energy, industry, transportation and agriculture, to policymaking and technology exchanges.

In the talks with Honduras' Foreign Minister Enrique Reina, the two ministers discussed cooperation in development projects under way by South Korea in the Central American nation and hoped that the partnership will continue to grow in such fields as agriculture and forestry.

Reina also expressed hope that South Korean companies will take part in mega infrastructure projects aimed at modernizing its ports and building railways between regions.