SEOUL – South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin engaged in a series of diplomatic discussions with counterparts from Canada and Mexico, along with key business and opinion leaders, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum held in San Francisco earlier this week.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Park Jin discussed follow-up steps from the recent summit talks between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The discussions, which took place on Wednesday (local time), also included conversations about the Indo Pacific strategies and the commitment to enhance cooperation on regional issues.
Park Jin then met with Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena Ibarra to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation. Highlighting the growing trade relations with Mexico, Park urged for expedited negotiations on resuming bilateral free trade talks, which have been stalled since 2008. He also sought Mexico's support for South Korea's bid to become an associate member state of the Pacific Alliance, a significant economic bloc in Latin America.
In addition to these bilateral meetings, Park Jin had separate discussions with Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta Platforms Inc., and Will Marshall, CEO of Planet Labs. These talks centered on issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) global governance and cooperation in the space economy.
On Thursday, Park met with Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm, to exchange opinions on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, economic security, and other global challenges.