PPS and IDB Strengthen Cooperation to Advance Public Procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Public Procurement Service (Administrator Baek Seung-bo) renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to further enhance cooperation in the public procurement sector for Regional Developing Member Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at the Seoul Regional Office on May 20, 2026.

The MOU, signed by PPS Vice Administrator Kang Sung-min

and André Soares, Chief of the Office of the Presidency of the

IDB, is designed to share Korea’s e-procurement and procurement

administration know-how with the LAC region and support its

procurement development. The MOU builds upon the successful

achievements of the first round of cooperation projects between

PPS and the IDB since 2023.

PPS and the IDB have supported e-procurement development and capacity building in the LAC region through the first agreement (2023–2026). This collaboration provided reform roadmaps based on e-procurement maturity diagnoses for Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama.

Meanwhile, PPS co-hosted the International Public Procurement Workshop with the IDB twice, sharing insights on global public procurement trends, policies to foster SME suppliers, and capacity-building measures for procurement personnel with 39 high-level officials from 14 LAC countries.

Through this second agreement, the two sides will launch "Technical Cooperation" projects in earnest to derive practical outcomes. PPS plans to intensively support the improvement of transparency and efficiency in LAC public procurement, utilizing its accumulated experience and insights in K-procurement.

As a first step, PPS will formulate customized reform roadmaps based on precise diagnoses of each country’s procurement system. The next step involves developing Standardized Contract Management Guides to address issues such as delivery delays and quality control. These guides will be implemented through pilot programs in member countries to enhance practical operational outcomes.

In addition, PPS and the IDB will jointly organize International Public Procurement Workshops (IPPW) and conduct policy research, including best-practice analysis, to bolster the expertise of LAC procurement officials. If procurement transparency in the LAC region is significantly enhanced, it is expected to create a favorable environment for Korean companies to enter the LAC procurement market.

Vice Administrator Kang Sung-min stated, “The renewal of this MOU marks a new leap forward in supporting public procurement reforms in the LAC region, building on three years of successful cooperation. Moving forward, we will continue to share Korea’s e-procurement experiences, such as KONEPS, through our solid partnership with the IDB and further strengthen our global procurement partnerships.”