Editor’s Note
This article highlights Gwangmyeong City’s efforts to strengthen international cooperation in fair trade and the social economy, following a recent visit by Costa Rican officials.
[Gwangmyeong = Naeoe News] Reporter Park Cheol-hee
Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seung-won) is expanding its social economy and fair trade cooperation with Costa Rica to a global level, thereby strengthening international partnerships.
The city announced that on the 17th, officials from the Embassy of Costa Rica in Korea and the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) visited Gwangmyeong City and held a tea meeting to expand exchanges in the fields of social economy and fair trade.
This visit is significant as it marks the formalization of the cooperative relationship formed last June when Mayor Park Seung-won visited Costa Rica as part of a Korean local government delegation.
Key figures attending the meeting included Jorge Valerio, Ambassador of Costa Rica to Korea; Marvin Rojas, Director of the Coffee Institute; and Mario José Castillo, Deputy General Manager.
Participants exchanged views focusing on Gwangmyeong City’s fair trade policies, strategies for revitalizing the social economy, and plans to expand international cooperation.
Gwangmyeong City, as a leading domestic city in the social and solidarity economy sector, has steadily broadened its cooperative framework with Costa Rica, one of the leading fair trade countries.
Starting with a Costa Rican policy training program in 2023, the city has promoted various joint projects, including ▲ a 2023 meeting inviting Costa Rican coffee producers ▲ and the development and launch of Costa Rican fair trade coffee in 2024.
In particular, the fair trade coffee made using coffee beans from Costa Rican cooperatives contributes to spreading ethical consumption within the region through sales at local fair trade stores and purchases by city hall departments.
Meanwhile, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute plans to operate a promotional booth introducing its country’s coffee at the ‘Seoul Cafe Show’ to be held from the 19th to the 21st.