Bolivia's foreign minister said Monday that grant aid and other technical assistance from South Korea will help achieve Sucre's goal to fight poverty and enhance the livelihood of its people.
Bolivia received the second-largest official development assistance among Latin American countries by Seoul as of 2014. South Korea's ODA to Bolivia amounted to an estimated $4.64 million in 2014, accounting for 0.22 percent out of the total ODA that Seoul extended that year.
Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said that his country is in need of foreign investment, expressing hope that robust technical assistance from Seoul will be helpful for its development.
"I hope that bilateral cooperation with South Korea could help achieve Bolivia's national development goals," Choquehuanca told a group of reporters in Seoul. "I'm sure that South Korea's assistance will help us attain a set of goals such as poverty eradication and stable supply of energy and drinking water."
South Korea has become the first country in the world that has transformed into an aid donor country from a recipient nation. Seoul's ODA to underdeveloped countries will rise nearly 5 percent this year to 2.38 trillion won ($2.18 billion).
"South Korea and Bolivia have something in common historically as the two nations suffered from foreign powers' aggression in the past," Choquehuanca added. "By further tapping on common grounds, I hope that people from the two countries get closer."
Bolivia is one of the 11-members of an intergovernmental organization that shares socialist ideology and hopes for deeper economic integration in Central and South America such as Cuba and Venezuela, named "the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America."
Touching on Washington's move to normalize its ties with Cuba, Choquehuanca said he welcomed such a decision.
Last month, the U.S. and Cuba agreed to restore their diplomatic ties in about 50 years in a surprise decision.
"We respect other countries' diplomatic decision. Bolivia welcomes the agreement between the U.S. and Cuba," the foreign minister said, expressing hope that more progress could come between the two nations.
His visit to Seoul came on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Bolivia.
Choquehuanca, who arrived in Seoul Saturday for a three-day visit, held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se earlier in the day. It marked the first time since 1996 that a Bolivian foreign minister visited Seoul.
He expressed hope that South Korea could join on-going massive infrastructure projects in Bolivia including e-government development and the construction of international airports, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. In return, Yun proposed ways to widen cooperation so that Sucre can share with South Korea's technology and experience in such fields as the petrochemical industry and energy efficiency, it added.
Yun also pledged that Seoul will expand necessary supports to Bolivia, one of 26 countries where Seoul has concentrated its ODA provision.
Seoul and Sucre have decided to unveil commemorative stamps this year as an event to mark the anniversary, Choquehuanca noted. (Yonhap)
