The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Lee Duk-hoon, “Korea Eximbank”) announced that it held the opening ceremony of the Bogota Representative Office in Bogota, Colombia on May 14.

The opening ceremony was attended by about 150 officials including Deputy President of Korea Eximbank Nam Ki-sub, Korean Ambassador to Colombia Choo Jong-yeon, Colombia’s Vice Minister of Finance Carolina Soto Losada, President of Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN) Clemente del Valle Borraez.

The Bogota Representative Office, full in operation from this day, will support Korean firms doing business in Latin American markets by making financial arrangements for export-import transactions and overseas investments.

At the same time, the office is planned to act as the EDCF regional office for Latin America that will identify and support the socio-economic infrastructure development projects.

* The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was established by the Korean government in 1987 to promote economic exchanges and to assist developing countries in achieving industrialization and economic stability through the provision of long-term, low-interest credit. Korea Eximbank currently manages the fund as its trustee.

Korea is the first country in Asia with which Colombia established an FTA in February 2013.The FTA is expected to bring about increased economic cooperation in the years to come.

In particular, Colombia is the only Latin American country that has established an agency dedicated to Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and set up relevant law. With high demands on transportation and IT infrastructure projects in the country, it is expected that investments by Korean companies will be boosted.

During the opening ceremony, Deputy President Nam Ki-sub remarked, “Colombia is a strategic hub serving as a gateway to Latin America for businesses in the Pacific and is displaying the most dynamic growth in the region.” He added, “Korea Eximbank will make use of its diverse financial assistance tools, rich experiences in financial assistance, and large global networks to fully support the Colombian government’s infrastructure projects, particularly focusing on private sector cooperation projects.”