El Salvador to Emulate Korea’s Development Experience
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
El Salvadorean Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez applauded Korea's ascendance from a recipient of development aid to a donor, hoping his country will follow Korea's footsteps.
"We hope to disseminate what we have learned from Korea to other countries in the future," Martinez said in an interview in Seoul, Wednesday.
"For example, we could visit Honduras, Guatemala or Nicaragua to train rescue crews, something we have learned from Korea. Or they could come to El Salvador to get training."
During his visit, Martinez and his Korean counterpart, Yu Myung-hwan, signed the Framework Agreement on Grant Aid.
Korea graduated from being an aid recipient late last year, and joined the OECD's group of donors.
El Salvador, located in Central America, was at one point better off than Korea, and took part in observing Korea's election in 1947 as part of the Temporary Commission on Korea. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1962.
What the El Salvadorian government welcomes in particular is a communication modernization project. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) began work to replace a traditional system with an updated computerized one in the Central American country's foreign ministry.
The minister acknowledged the project, expecting it to establish a more efficient and open system.
His Seoul visit came after the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) in Tokyo last weekend.
FEALAC is an annual dialogue venue launched in 1999. It was initiated by then-Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. A total of 33 countries have joined it.
At the heart of Korea's aid to El Salvador is KOICA.
Last March, the agency opened its office in the capital of San Salvador, one of its 34 overseas offices.
Between 2008 and 2009, KOICA has constructed 10 maternity homes in El Salvador, and provided medical supplies and education to mothers.
It is currently undertaking a greenhouse construction project there, transferring cultivation techniques and training professionals.