President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of summit meetings with the leaders of Peru and Chile on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) Summit on Thursday.

President Yoon first met with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, where the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in the defense industry and the minerals sector as the countries marked the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year.

President Yoon also met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric for the first time since taking office.

Yoon requested Chile’s support for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid, adding that he hopes to establish a key mineral partnership with the world’s second largest producer of lithium, a key material for secondary batteries.

Boric, on his part, expressed hope for improving the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, adding that strategic cooperation between the two nations will be strengthened in areas such as supply chains, energy, resources and climate change.