U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on Monday with Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister, representatives from both countries announced.
In a phone call, the duo “discussed the state of bilateral relations and analyzed the prospects for strategic cooperation between Costa Rica and the United States,” per a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
“They exchanged points of view to work on a strategy toward the new normality, aimed at consolidating, in the post-pandemic world, cooperation in various fields,” the Foreign Ministry said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, that cooperation would be based on four pillars: ongoing political dialogue; promoting smart cooperation; creating conditions for dynamic economic and scientific diplomacy through public-private partnerships; and strengthening institutional capacities in the area of citizen security.
Pompeo again warned Costa Rica about “the People’s Republic of China’s empty promises to Central America,” the State Department’s summary of the phone call describes.
That echoes public comments Pompeo made during a January visit to Costa Rica, in which he contrasted the United States’s economic “spirit of partnership” with China’s “flashy promises … that have often produced only debt, dependency, and even the erosion of sovereignty.”
Costa Rica established diplomatic ties with China in 2007, severing its previous relationship with Taiwan. The alliance has resulted in Costa Rica’s new National Stadium — a gift from China — and a cooperation agreement as part of the Silk Road Economic Belt.
The Chinese Embassy in January called Pompeo’s comments “arbitrary and without grounds,” and Costa Rican officials did not publicly respond to them.
Pompeo on Monday “commended” Costa Rica on its “continued security cooperation and track record of success in counter-narcotics efforts” alongside the United States.
“The Secretary expressed U.S. support for Costa Rica’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department says.
The U.S. Embassy says it has donated more than $250,000 worth of medical supplies to the Costa Rica Social Security System during the health crisis.
