The Colombian Embassy in Seoul highlighted the adoption of the Colombia-Korea joint declaration signed in 2021 at Colombia’s 212th Independence Day celebrations on Monday in South Korea.

Colombia’s Independence Day, which falls on July 20, commemorates the country’s declaration of independence in 1810. Colombia was a colony of Spain from 1550-1810.

The joint declaration was adopted to specify the concrete steps to be carried out to achieve the two countries’ shared goals.

The declaration is historic since it is the first Latin American country Korea had worked with to define a narrative and road map for future bilateral relations, said Colombian Ambassador to Korea Juan Carlos Caiza Rosero in delivering welcome remarks at the annual celebration.

He emphasized that the joint declaration helped pave the way for deals aimed at promoting sustainable and digital inclusive innovation in several areas, such as green growth, entrepreneurship, creative industries, the blue economy, science and technology, bio-economy, among others. 

“2022 commemorates the 60 years of Colombia-Korea relations and the 71st anniversary of Colombia Battalion’s arrival to Korea,” said Caiza.

According to Caiza, Korea has helped Colombia take the lead in sustainability and climate change projects. Colombia is an official member of the Global Green Growth Institute, an intergovernmental organization promoting sustainable economic growth in developing and emerging countries that is headquartered in Seoul.

“Colombia will host the P4G assembly in 2023,” he said, referring to the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 climate summit. The global initiative was launched in 2017 to accelerate the response to climate change and the implementation of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Several climate action projects, with support of the Green Climate Fund, are under progress in Colombia, Caiza added.

The ambassador also thanked Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for awarding him the distinction of honorary citizen of Seoul.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyo-eun, the ambassador and deputy minister for climate change in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also delivered remarks, stressing Colombia’s spirit of democracy and love for peace.

“For Korea, Colombia is a true friend of difficult times,” said Kim referring to Colombia’s assistance during the Korean War.

“Colombia sent a total of 5,062 soldiers to Korea, many of whom sacrificed their precious lives for freedom and democracy in Korea,” she said, quoting the proverb, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Kim added that such historical cooperation laid the foundation for deep trust between Korea and Colombia to further advance the strategic cooperative partnership in 2011.