South Korea will host an annual forum on bilateral cooperation with Latin American countries in Seoul later this week with a focus on digital technologies, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The Korea-LAC Digital Cooperation Forum is set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, both online and offline, to discuss cooperation on 5G networks, digital governance, cybersecurity and other issues, the ministry said. LAC stands for Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Through this forum, Seoul seeks to promote its so-called New Deal policy aimed at stoking post-COVID-19 growth through various measures, such as creating jobs in sectors related to green and digital industries.

Eight ranking officials from five countries, including Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano Quiros and Guatemalan Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo Vila, will join the forum in person, while other foreign senior officials are set to partake via video links due to the pandemic.

During Wednesday's opening ceremony, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, Science and ICT Minister Choi Ki-young and the Costa Rican foreign minister will deliver welcoming and congratulatory remarks.

The two-day gathering is part of the Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum, which is the largest Latin America-related event in Korea. The forum was first held in 2008 to strengthen two-way cooperation. (Yonhap)