The president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, received today from the mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, the title of honorary citizen of the South Korean capital, where she is on official visit since Sunday.
In his acceptance speech, Chinchilla Seoul described as “the Mecca of technology” and “innovation capital”, and praised the respect for the environment promoted by the city authorities, a value that it shares with Costa Rica.
“Seoul has cared for the air they breathe their inhabitants and has not let its rivers are contaminated,” he said.
Park, meanwhile, wanted a strengthening of ties between South Korea and Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, noting that “Costa Rica always holds leading positions in the world happiness index”.
He considered this as a pending task of Seoul, a bustling metropolis whose more than 10 million people, he said, “are not happy enough despite the economic and technological development.”
The meeting with the mayor of Seoul was the last major event of Chinchilla before the summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, to seek ways to strengthen bilateral relations, especially in trade.
Chinchilla also signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Department of Korean Culture and Society at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), visited a prestigious hospital in the capital and shared a lunch with local entrepreneurs.
The delegation of Costa Rica, which also includes Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo, leave tomorrow back to San Jose to put an end to a tour last week toured several cities in China.
EFE
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica