The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) held their annual meeting on March 26 in Busan, Korea. As part of the meeting, a one-to-one business consulting event was jointly held by the IDB, the Korea Development Institute and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency to promote mutual cooperation between Korean and Latin American companies.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance evaluated that the business consulting event helped more Korean companies participate in the establishment of intelligent transportation systems and e-governments in Latin America.

Brazilian and Paraguayan companies requested the participation of Korean companies in building their e-governments and intelligent transportation systems.

Trade International, a transportation system consulting company in El Salvador, held a working-level meeting with LG CNS and Lotte Data Communications Company to adopt a USD 35 million-transportation card system.

Korean companies in the infrastructure development sector are highly likely to enter the Latin American market. Korea’s major construction companies, including Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Hanwha Engineering and Construction, were proactive about providing consulting for the USD 7.4 billion Bogota Metro line 1 project.

According to the ministry, the event will enable Korean companies to enter the Latin American market, which is a high-income emerging market and potential strategic market, by building a business network between Korean and Latin American companies.

As part of the meeting, a Korea-Latin America knowledge sharing program was held by 14 Korean and Latin American research institutions, including KDI and Peru’s University of the Pacific. The institutions agreed to conduct joint research on economic development experiences in the following six sectors: Economic development; sustainable energy development; ICT, innovation and productivity; trade and investment; labor market; and sustainable city.

The institutions adopted the Busan Declaration during the program to expand mutual cooperation between Korea and Latin America through Korea’s knowledge sharing programs to promote productive and sustainable economic development in Latin America.

A job fair was also held for Koreans seeking jobs at international financial institutions. The IDB hired three full-time researchers from 143 applicants.

The IIC hosted a business summit, where 23 Latin American companies and 15 Korean companies discussed ways to carry out projects. Three contracts - for mobile solutions, refrigeration vehicles and food packaging - were signed, and seven memorandums of understanding were signed for sectors including panels, steel pipe manufacturing facilities, industrial batteries and solar LEDs.

Also, executives of IDB and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gathered at a seminar to seek opportunities for cooperation between Asia and Latin America.

Seminar participants reached a consensus on overcoming the global low-growth trend by building a new development partnership between Asia, Latin America, the IDB and the ADB.