President Lee Jae Myung has accepted an invitation to visit Mexico from President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, as the two leaders agreed to deepen economic ties and build on cultural momentum following BTS’s Mexico City concert.
Lee accepted the invitation during his phone call with Sheinbaum on Thursday morning, according to Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. If realized, Lee’s trip would mark the first visit to Mexico by a South Korean president since former President Park Geun-hye’s official visit in April 2016.
After Lee agreed to visit Mexico, the two leaders agreed to “proceed well with working-level preparations and hold more in-depth discussions on ways to advance bilateral relations,” senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written statement.
The two leaders held a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in June last year, the first Korea-Mexico summit in nine years.
“The two leaders also assessed that friendly exchanges among high-level officials have continued, including an exchange of letters between the two leaders in January this year,” Kang said.
Sheinbaum sent a letter to Lee in January requesting an additional local performance by BTS in Mexico. In February, Sheinbaum said at a press conference that she had received a response from the South Korean president.
BTS members met Sheinbaum for about 40 minutes on May 6, local time, ahead of their concert in Mexico City later in the day. At a separate press conference following the concert, Sheinbaum thanked Lee for supporting the concert arrangements.
“In particular, the two leaders shared their impressions that it was very impressive to see tens of thousands of people gather at Mexico City’s Zocalo Square on May 6 to watch BTS," Kang said.
Lee and Sheinbaum "agreed to make efforts to strengthen cultural exchange cooperation between the two countries."
Lee also "congratulated Mexico on becoming the first country in the world to host the World Cup for a third time and wished for its success,” according to Kang.
During the call, Lee notably called on Sheinbaum to swiftly resume long-stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement between South Korea and Mexico.
“President Lee emphasized the need for FTA negotiations between the two countries to be resumed promptly, as Mexico is South Korea’s largest trade and investment partner in Latin America,” according to Kang.
South Korea and Mexico selected an FTA as a mid- to long-term bilateral economic and trade goal after 2000 and began phased discussions. But negotiations were suspended in 2008, and there has been little progress since both sides agreed to resume talks in 2022.
Lee also said that “as global economic uncertainty has grown following the Middle East war, the two countries, which share similar positions, should further strengthen cooperation in various fields, including energy,” Kang said.
“Sheinbaum responded that she has great interest in expanding substantive cooperation with Korea, including economic cooperation,” Kang added.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
