By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
South Korea and Uruguay have agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and other economic fields, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday.
At a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, the leaders agreed to enhance economic ties between Korea and Uruguay.
Vazquez arrived in Seoul on Saturday for a five-day trip, becoming the first Uruguayan president to visit South Korea since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1964.
``Lee expressed his wish to further enhance practical cooperation between South Korea and Uruguay on the occasion of Vazquez's visit,'' Cheong Wa Dae said. ``In response, Vazquez stressed the need to boost cooperation in trade and energy fields and asked South Korea to increase its investments in the South American country.''
After the summit, the two leaders observed their Cabinet ministers sign memorandums of understanding on closer cooperation in forestry and fisheries businesses, the presidential office said.
Korea is seeking to sign free trade agreements with Mexico and other Latin American countries and strengthen collaboration in developing the abundant resources of Latin America.
South Korea and Mercosur (South American Common Market), composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, began joint research on the feasibility and benefits of the trade pacts in mid-2005 and completed it in 2006.
``Korea and Uruguay will step up collaboration in developing natural resources of Latin America. Korea depends heavily on imports of agricultural and dairy products as well as petroleum and minerals, which are the continent's major export items,'' a presidential spokesman said.