Charge d’Affaires Yadira Hidalgo de Ortiz of Venezuela hosted a reception at Grand Hyatt Seoul on July 6, 2015 to celebrate the 204th anniversary of independence and 50th year of diplomatic relations with Korea.
Attending the function were Vice Minister of Student Policies of Higher Education Jehyson Guzman of Venezuela and many ambassadors and other senior members of the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.
From the Korean side were Deputy Minister Shin Dong-ik for Multilateral and Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Director General Bahk Sahng-hoon of the Latin Amercian & Caribbean Affairs Bureau of MOFA, Ambassador (ret.) Jin-Ho Chung (vice president of Koran Council on Latin America and the Caribbean) and other government, business and society leaders, including Advisor Kab-Dong Cho of Korea Digital Hospital Export Agency, Vice President Suh Sang-hun of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C). From Hyundai E&C also came Vice President Kim Hyoung-ki and Project Manager Ryu Seong-an, showing the extent of their interest in the promotion of relations between Korea and Venezuela. There also were CEO Seong-gil Roh of City for Humanity and former AMCHAM President Jeffrey Jones.
From the SDC were many mission chiefs who included Ambassadors Albino Malungo of Angola, Guadalupe Palomeque de Taboada of Bolivia, Suth Dina of Cambodia, Tito Saul Pinilla Pinilla of Colombia, Sylvestre Kouassi Bile of Cote d'Ivoire, Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla of Holy See, Hassan Taherian of Iran, Jose Luis Bernal of Mexico, Ruben Eloy Arosemena Valdes of Panama, Aloijsius Johannes Adrianus Emrechts of the Netherlands, Raul S. Hernandez of the Philippines, Milan Lajciak of Slovak Republic, Nozuko Gloria Bam of South Africa and Gonzalo Ortiz Diaz-Tortosa of Spain.
Speaking to the guests, Charge d’Affaires Yadira Hidalgo de Ortiz said: “We are here today to celebrate the 50 years of fruitful relations between Korea and Venezuela, which began on April 29th in 1965. The Korean people are a great example for us, because after having suffered a war that destroyed the nation and its population were decreased, it emerged as the great power that it is today. During that terrible war, Venezuela proved its solidarity with the Korean people providing medical and logistical support.” (Excerpts from the speech at toward the end of this Article.)
The host’s speech was followed by a congratulatory speech by Deputy Minister Shin of MOFA, who cited the growing ties of cooperation, exchange and friendship between Korea and Venezuela.
Then came a congratulatory speech by Vice Minister of Student Policies of Higher Education Jehyson Guzman of Venezuela, who said in part: “South Korea represents a major technological and information center, offering extensive cooperation programs aimed at promoting technical assistance, training, technology transfer and exchange of experts and scholars, which results in an improvement of the professional capacities of Venezuelans linked to these areas, therefore, we will promote the exchange between the two countries to define the basis of mutual cooperation.” (Excerpts are at the end of this Article.)
Excerpts from the speech of Charge d’Affaires Yadira Hidalgo de Ortiz:
Every July 5th Venezuelan people celebrate the Signing of the Declaration of our Independence, glorious date that reminds us the autonomy and sovereignty, and the legacy of our Liberators that we have the responsibility to preserve.
This date is also a commemorative time of our glorious Bolivarian National Armed Forces, whose soldiers and brave warriors have only transcended our borders to bring freedom to other nations.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is constituted as a Social Democratic State of Law and Justice, based on the moral property and values of freedom, international peace, solidarity, self-determination of peoples and the preeminence of human rights.
President Chavez was a determined fighter to achieve the Latin American and Caribbean unity, promoting the creation of Petrocaribe, CELAC, (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and ALBA, (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas), also UNASUR and the income of Venezuela to MERCOSUR.
President Nicolas Maduro has continued Chavez’s legacy to ensure the greatest amount of social security, the greatest amount of political stability and the greatest happiness to our people. For these, the 60% of our revenues are being invested in the different missions or social programs, these incomes has allowed the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, the recent recognition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) that recognizes the outstanding progress in the field of Fighting against Hunger for the second time in our nation.
Despite the turn down revenues from the decline of international oil prices, our nation has not diminished its social investment.
We are here today to celebrate the 50 years of fruitful relations between Korea and Venezuela, which began on April 29th in 1965.
The Korean people are a great example for us, because after having suffered a war that destroyed the nation and its population were decreased, it emerged as the great power that it is today.
During that terrible war, Venezuela proved its solidarity with the Korean people providing medical and logistical support.
These relations have been set up as historical friendship; we have been deepening in terms of complementarity that allows us to achieve the trust and permanent interrelations.
The relations between both countries are based on the commercial, technological, sports and cultural exchange, which clearly shows the strong economic developments followed by the transference of technology support for both telecommunications and industrial sectors.
Nowadays, there are important and big Korean companies such as Hyundai, Samsung, GS, LG and Daewoo which are doing large scale investment projects with the Venezuelan State Oil Company PDVSA.
The company Hyundai Engineering and Construction is carrying out the expansion of the refinery in Puerto de la Cruz city, with the aim of maximizing the use of large proven oil reserves in the Orinoco Oil Belt Hugo Chavez, this project has an investment amounting to more than four billion dollars.
The Korean company Daewoo is currently performing the engineering project for the construction of an oil pipeline; this initial phase has an investment of 65 million dollars.
Our government also signed a strategic alliance agreement with Samsung for the installation of a factory in Venezuela that will have production capacity for both: the domestic market and exportation. In the first phase of the agreement, the factory will produce various appliances and electronic products.
We have also signed important agreements for the avoidance of double taxation and to prevent tax evasion, also on culture, tourism abolition of visas in ordinary passports, as well as in science and technology.
In the same way, there are important agreements in the cultural area that allowed the visit of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra System and the Master Gustavo Dudamel, and other famous Venezuelan musicians who have shared with leading Korean musician Masters in the benefit of children and youth in Korea making summer camps.
Venezuela’s Museums Foundation in accordance with important museums of Korea, has made several beautiful exhibits that have enabled to the Korean people enjoy valuable works by artists like Picasso and Matisse, among others.
It is scheduled for next November 2015 an important exhibition at the Seoul Art Center, which will feature works of the great Venezuelan artist Jesus Soto, in the framework of the celebration of 50 years of bilateral relations, as in Venezuela was the same with the artist Soonik Kwon at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Venezuela.
It is increasingly known about Korea in Venezuela, its people and its culture, TV dramas through Venezuelan television broadcasts and the presentation and dissemination of musical groups.
I strongly hope that our people and governments increase their exchanges and advance to higher levels of cooperation in all areas.
I do not want to finish without thanking the various grassroots organizations and civil society of Korea for its different manifestations of solidarity with Venezuela in difficult times as well as the fraternal countries, reiterating the stance of peace and respect for self-determination of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
Excerpts from the speech of Vice Minister of Student Policies of Higher Education Jehyson Guzman of Venezuela:
Since the establishment of bilateral relations, on April 29th in 1965, between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Korea, those have been developed on principles of friendship, cordiality and cooperation, aspects which were intensified during the administration of the Commander President Hugo Chavez with a series of visits and contacts between senior officials of both Governments, that have provided greater dynamism in recent years.
The dynamics of these relationships reinforce the thesis of multipolarity in the framework of the implementation of the Venezuelan foreign policy and building strategic partnerships for development in areas of educational, cultural and economic and commercial interest, highlighting the latest initiative cooperation in the energy field.
South Korea represents a major technological and information center, offering extensive cooperation programs aimed at promoting technical assistance, training, technology transfer and exchange of experts and scholars, which results in an improvement of the professional capacities of Venezuelans linked to these areas, therefore, we will promote the exchange between the two countries to define the basis of mutual cooperation.
In this regard, I wish to express the great satisfaction I feel after witnessing the progress in relations between Venezuela and South Korea, united by the desire to strengthen international cooperation aimed at the development of both countries.