17 May 2018
ECLAC, Republic of Korea Cooperate on Trade Capacity to Advance SDGs
story highlights

Meeting on the sidelines of the 37th session of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Republic of Korea and ECLAC agreed to strengthen capacities to internationalize SMEs in the region, among other efforts to promote trade and sustainable urban and rural development.

ECLAC 37 convened from 7-11 May 2018, in Havana, Cuba.

10 May 2018: The Republic of Korea and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) have launched a collaboration to promote trade and sustainable urban and rural development in LAC countries, with a view to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. The Republic of Korea has been an ECLAC member State since 2007.

The agreement was signed on 10 May 2018, on the sidelines of the 37th session of ECLAC, which met in Havana, Cuba, from 7-11 May 2018.

Signing the agreement, Kang Kyung-wha, Republic of Korea’s Foreign Minister, and Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC Executive Secretary, highlighted the “fertile mutual collaboration” that promotes dialogue and trade between Asia and LAC. The agreement seeks to strengthen the capacities of LAC legislators and government agencies to “internationalize” small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through more intensive use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), including paperless trade and innovation in exports.

In July 2017, the Republic of Korea and ECLAC signed a 2017-2019 multi-annual programme addressing the sustainable development of exports and strengthening the Latin America-Asia Pacific Observatory, which enables consolidating bilateral cooperation and planning actions. [ECLAC Press Release]


related events