African Development Bank Vice President Charles Boamah gives a congratulatory speech at the Korea-Africa Business Forum, in Busan on April 4.
By Kim Young-ah and Sohn JiAe
Photos = Busan Metropolitan City
Economic and development experts from Korea and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have gathered in Busan to talk about ways to further expand mutual economic cooperation.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Export Import Bank of Korea, and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) co-hosted the Korea-Africa Business Forum with officials from the AfDB on April 3 and 4.
The two-day forum began with the experts sharing their thoughts about how to enhance cooperation at the private level, and exchanged information about the AfDB’s procurement system and about what role the bank should play amid the rapid economic development currently being seen across the African continent.
Investment programs were discussed as well, such as the Korean government’s efforts to make inroads into African markets using the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and the Global Green Growth Institute projects.
The head of the African Development Bank’s External Representative Office for Asia, Tadashi Yokoyama, gives a presentation on how to enhance private-level cooperation between Korea and African economies, at the Korea-Africa Business Forum, in Busan on April 4.
“African economies have high potential for growth, with rich natural and human recourses,” said Song In-chang, deputy minister of international economy from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. “To form a successful partnership between our nation and African economies, we must continue to strengthen joint forces in the development of energy and human resources, and also in the improvement of governance,” he said.
