Republic of Korea strengthens relations

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jun 14, CMC – The Republic of Korea has formalised its decade old friendship with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) when the first non-permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the East Asian country presented his credentials to CARICOM.
CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General, Manorma Soeknandan accepted the Letter of Credence from Ki-Mo Lim at a simple ceremony at the CARICOM Secretariat.
She said CARICOM welcomed and celebrated this formal step towards a more institutionalised partnership and enduring relationship with Korea.
Underscoring the value of longstanding relations at a time when the international community was increasingly uncertain and unpredictable, she said CARICOM looked to like-minded countries, like Korea, and to multilateral, regional and international organizations for support in protecting its interests.
She said in this context, CARICOM faced considerable challenges in accessing concessional financing due to graduation as a result of the use of per-capita income as the sole criteria for measuring development.
The Deputy Secretary-General, noting that the increasing vulnerability to climate events remained the single biggest threat to Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS) like those of CARICOM, said the region was heartened by South Korea’s recent affirmation of its continued commitment to addressing the threat of climate change and its continued support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
CARICOM and Korea held their first consultation and cooperation mechanism meeting, in January 2007. The CARICOM Secretariat noted that over the last 10 years, the friendship has deepened through the high-level Caribbean partnership forums held annually in Korea. The the inaugural CARICOM-Korea high-level meeting was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
“We thank the Government of the Republic of Korea for its support and we extend our support for peace on the Korean peninsula,” Soeknandan said.
The Asian diplomat said he anticipates Korea’s partnership with CARICOM will continue to grow stronger and that the accreditation would mark another turning point in the evolution of the “excellent friendship.”
He described the Jamaica meeting as a “milestone in elevating the level of dialogue and strengthening tangible cooperation between the two sides” and that the joint communique issued afterwards signalled the strong will and commitment of both sides to fortify the bonds between the two Regions.
He described CARICOM as a leading group in the international community’s efforts regarding climate change and sustainable development goals and a model example of regional cooperation and integration.

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