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| Charge d'Affaires Luis Pablo Ossio Bustillos, second from right, at the Embassy of Bolivia in Korea, his spouse Maria Jose Zapata, left, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Hwang Kyung-Tae, right, and Ruben Arosemena, Panamanian ambassador in Korea and also dean of the Latin American Group join a cake-cutting ceremony at a reception to celebrate the 194th anniversary of Bolivia's Independence Day at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in downtown Seoul, Aug. 6. / Korea Times photo by Yi Whan-woo |
By Yi Whan-woo
Bolivia and Korea are making gradual yet consistent progress in their relations since Bolivian President Evo Morales first took office in 2006, was re-elected in 2009, and after amending the Constitution, has been serving his third term since 2014.
After closing their respective embassies in each other's capitals during the Asian financial crisis, Korea re-opened its embassy in 2008 and Bolivia followed suit in 2013.
Trade volume has increased from $547.4 million in 2015 to $610.5 million in 2018, Bolivia's longest bridge built by Korea's Hyundai Development opened in 2017, and in 2018 a record 18,000 Koreans visited Salar de Uyuni — one of Bolivia's must-see tourist attractions and the world's largest salt flat.
Bilateral cooperation has become more important as Morales seeks to run for his fourth term in the Oct. 20 presidential election and wants to complete his Agenda 2025 economic initiative.
"Korea is an important donor for national development plans including Agenda 2025-related projects," Charge d'Affaires Luis Pablo Ossio Bustillos said during a reception in Seoul last week to mark the 194th anniversary of Bolivia's Independence Day.
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| Charge d'Affaires Luis Pablo Ossio Bustillos, front row sixth from right, poses with ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps from Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal during a reception to mark the 194th anniversary of Bolivia's Independence Day at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in downtown Seoul, Aug. 6. / Korea Times photo by Yi Whan-woo |
Named after its liberator and inaugural president Simon Bolivar, Bolivia has sought to uphold his vision for equality and justice after the country, formerly called Upper Peru, declared independence from Spain on Aug. 6, 1825.
And Morales is trying to ensure the Bolivian economy stays afloat by maintaining an average growth rate of 5 percent and cutting poverty to 5 percent by 2025, down from 35 percent in 2006.
Being the country's first indigenous leader, Morales, through his initiative, is also trying to offer quality education, improve healthcare and foster science and technology in order to bring the people of the multiracial society closer.
Last year, Bolivia's top electoral court accepted Morales' candidacy for a fourth term despite a constitutional ban against such re-election and a referendum that upheld the ban.
Charge d'Affaires Ossio said Morales' 13 years in power and his candidate bid for a fourth term should not be perceived as autocracy.
He said the people of indigenous descent have been "so far away" from government care even hundreds of years after Bolivia gained independence, and that Morales is the only one who can correct this.
"Bolivia's case is different from other countries when considering the indigenous, although they constitute the majority of the population, lived in poor conditions and needed someone to resolve it," Ossio said.
He argued Bolivia, after undergoing political turmoil, has been politically stable since 2006, adding "This is because of leadership of the (incumbent) government and mature bureaucrats."
The Independence Day reception at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul attracted ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps from Latin American countries plus Spain and Portugal.
From the Korean side was Hwang Kyung-tae, deputy director-general for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ossio came to Korea as the minister counselor in 2015. After then-Ambassador Guadalupe Palomeque de Taboada was appointed as the vice foreign minister and returned home, Ossio remained as charge d'affaires.
Bilateral trade is in favor of Bolivia, with a surplus of $1.5 billion from 2015 to 2018 combined.
The longest bridge in Bolivia — Banegas Bridge — was built by Korea's Hyundai Development and funded by the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
The construction was part of cooperative commitments made between leaders of the two countries in 2010 when Morales became the first Bolivian president to visit Korea.
