The Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Commerce (COMEX) reported that on November 16, 2016, the signing ceremony on the conclusion of the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement between the Republics of Central America and the Republic of Korea (Tratado de Libre Comercio entre las Repúblicas de Centroamérica y la República de Corea) took place. This activity was attended by Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the governing bodies on Trade and Economy of Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and the hierarchy of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea, Mr. Joo Hyung-hwan. During this meeting, the chief negotiators and process leaders exchanged their views on the results and urged the technical teams to accelerate work for the effective implementation of the treaty. They also discussed the prospects that this agreement opens for relations between the region and South Korea. The negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement between the Republics of Central America and the Republic of Korea was launched in June 2015 as an agreement between seven countries.