South Korea will expand economic cooperation with Colombia in the clean and renewable energy sector by launching pilot projects for electric vehicles and energy self-sufficient villages in the South American country, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea said Sunday.

Trade-Industry-Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick inked a memorandum of understanding on renewable energy with Colombia’s Mines and Energy Minister Tomas Gonzalez in Bogota, the country’s capital, Friday.

“We see vast possibilities to export Korea’s green energy self-supporting model to Colombia as the country has rich potentials in renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power and geothermal power but many regions remain unconnected to the state grid,” a ministry official said.

This is the first time for the Korean government to sign a deal with a foreign government to enter overseas renewable energy market since July 2014 when it announced to accelerate the country’s clean energy market by creating six new energy-related businesses that include rental services for solar energy equipment and electric car services

As a follow-up measure, the two sides will carry out pilot projects in Latin America’s third-largest economy after conducting feasibility studies in 2016.

Korea will push ahead with a pilot program to form self-sufficient energy villages in Colombia’s energy-poor and isolated areas that cannot easily be reached by conventional electricity grid infrastructure. The villages will be equipped with energy storage systems and powered by renewable resources.

Currently, 66 percent of Colombia’s territory is not connected to the national power grid, according to the Korean ministry.

The Korean government also plans to launch an electric vehicle battery lease project in Bogota.

Colombia is pushing to introduce electric buses in Bogota and other major cities to help reduce greenhouse gases.

The South Korean government expects that the pilot project could be a gateway to other Latin American energy markets.

“Latin America’s electricity car market is not as significant as other markets in North America, Asia and Europe, but some countries, including Colombia, are trying electricity vehicle projects as a national-scale program to tackle climate change,” the official said.

Last week, President Park Geun-hye called for quick ratification of a free trade agreement with Colombia during her visit to the South American country.

The sides clinched an FTA in February 2013, but opposition mainly from the automobile sector in Colombia has delayed the domestic ratification process.

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has yet to approve the deal, while South Korea’s parliament has completed its ratification.

By Park Han-na  (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)