1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Chung Byung-won held a meeting on June 12 with Mr. Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández, Director General for Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, who visited Korea to participate in the Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum. They discussed a wide range of issues such as bilateral relations, the establishment of permanent diplomatic missions in their respective capitals, substantive cooperation, and regional and global affairs.

2. Both sides agreed that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Cuba was an important milestone in bilateral relations, and agreed to make efforts to expand and develop cooperation in various fields together.

3. Both sides agreed to continue active cooperation to open permanent diplomatic missions in their respective capitals as soon as possible, which are expected to serve as a solid foundation for the development of the bilateral relations. Deputy Minister Chung said that, with the goal of accelerating the opening of the Korean embassy in Cuba, the Korean government is planning to open a temporary office in Havana within the first half of the year, and a Korean diplomat is scheduled to arrive in Havana this week to carry out the abovementioned mission. Director General Pereira mentioned that a Cuban diplomat, who was dispatched to Korea for the establishment of the Cuban embassy, also commenced his mission last month and is proceeding with related procedures to open the Cuban mission in Korea as soon as possible.

4. Both sides appreciated the exchanges between the two countries so far, including development cooperation, economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and culture and sports cooperation, and resolved to further facilitate such cooperation through close communication. The Cuban side particularly showed interest in promoting substantive cooperation between the two countries in various fields including trade, investment, agriculture, energy, and health.

5. Deputy Minister Chung and Director General Pereira also exchanged views on regional and global affairs.

6. Today’s consultation was the first official high-level meeting between Korea and Cuba to discuss cooperation in various fields since the establishment of the diplomatic relations. Based on the results of today’s discussions, both sides resolved to continue communication on possible areas of cooperation, and acknowledged the need to facilitate high-level consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries.