Deputy Prime Minister Kyungho Choo met with Finance Ministers of major countries among 38 African countries, who visited Korea to attend the 7th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC)1 Ministerial Conference held from September 12 through 15 in Gijang, Busan. For the two days (September 13 to 14), DMP Choo had bilateral talks as well as luncheons and dinners with his African counterparts to discuss measures to strengthen economic cooperation.
During the bilateral talks held on September 13, DPM Choo highlighted Korea’s commitment to escalate support for African countries’ economic development by elaborating on a variety of policy instruments2 and discuss measures to strengthen bilateral ties with each country.
In particular, DPM highlighted that Busan is bidding to host World Expo 2030 as a way to reciprocate the support Korea had received from the international community in the past, and in this regard, asked for African countries’ support. African ministers, who had talks with the DPM, expressed their gratitude to Korea’s financial assistance and look forward to Korea’s sharing of its economic development experiences. They also anticipated economic ties between Korea and African countries to be further enhanced going forward in a wide range of fields, especially in areas where Korea is taking the lead, such as information communications technology (ICT), energy, and agricultural development.
1 A Korea-Africa economic cooperation conference aims to transfer Korea’s economic development experiences, promote resource development cooperation, and support Korean companies’ entry into African markets.
2 They include the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), which is a long-term, low-interest concessional loan, Korea’s Knowledge sharing program (KSP), and trust funds established at the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation.
Source: Ministry of Economy & Finance, Republic of Korea (Source)
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