South Korea hopes to increase presence in Cuba: "It is an untapped market"

South Korea fixed his gaze on Cuba as an unexplored potential market, after more than sixty years of breaking diplomatic relations.

The Seoul government believes that the new relations between the two countries open a horizon of commercial opportunities. They have expressed a clear interest in Cuban mineral resources such as nickel and cobalt, which are essential components for the batteries that power electric vehicles.

This interest is evident in a context in which South Korea is already a giant in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles, hosting three of the top five manufacturers worldwide.

The cooperation could be a springboard for South Korean expansion throughout the Latin American region. They also consider that beyond minerals, there are possibilities of bringing to Cuba everyday products that the island's population lacks, including household appliances and specialized machinery.

However, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel remembers that any commercial aspiration will have to face the US embargo on Cuba, a challenge for the island's trade and economy at an international level.

South Korea must find ways to overcome this situation if it intends to materialize its economic cooperation plans with Cuba.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean island faces a severe shortage of all types of products and fuels to generate electricity, a factor that South Korea sees as an opportunity for cooperation in the energy sector.

Furthermore, the medicine and biotechnology sectors are emerging as fruitful fields for scientific and technical collaboration between the two nations.

With this recent diplomatic rapprochement, Seoul hopes to establish a consulate in Cuba to facilitate assistance to South Korean citizens traveling to the island.

The regularization of relations It was finalized with the exchange of notes between the representatives of both nations at the United Nations, on February 14. This marks the beginning of a new era in the connection between South Korea and Cuba.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries were broken with the rise to power of Fidel Castro. The Cuban government gave its support to North Korea in 1960.

Since then, the regime has maintained a historical, political and ideological alliance with Pyongyang that last week they insisted on ratifying, through several messages on social networks.