The governments of Korea and many African economies have agreed to pursue cooperative partnerships for economic growth. As part of these efforts, the Korean government has pledged to provide a financial aid package worth over USD 10 billion.
On Oct. 25, President Park Geun-hye called these African economies “one of the world’s last remaining growth engines.”
“We’ve seen a passion among farmers from the National Farmers’ Leadership Center (NFLC) in Uganda to overcome poverty and to pave the way for a brighter future,” the president said. The NFLC is a training facility for future leaders of Uganda’s rural agricultural development movement that was set up by the Korean government in May, the first of its kind on the African continent.
The president went on to say that, “Through Korea’s developmental aid program Korea Aid, launched during my state visits to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya earlier this year, our fleets of aid trucks have travelled to many parts of the continent, serving local dishes, providing medical supplies and screening Korean media that showcases our traditions, pop music and other material. Through these efforts, I hope that Korea and African countries will become closer friends.”
President Park Geun-hye speaks during a dinner at Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 25 to welcome senior officials from Africa who are in Seoul to attend the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference.
Her remarks came during a dinner to welcome ministers and vice ministers from 43 African countries, as well as representatives from international organizations like the African Development Bank (AFDB), and from private businesses. They were in Seoul to attend the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference from Oct. 24 to 27.
During the meeting, the president also vowed to plant seeds of economic growth across Africa: seeds of “sharing,” seeds of “co-prosperity” and, lastly, seeds of “comprehensive cooperation.”
President Park stated that the Korean government will become a true partner that will help spur economic growth across the continent by actively building on the country’s development knowledge, experiences and even the process of trial and error. As the next step, the president pledged to pursue a win-win economic partnership with African countries. Korea and African countries will create a new level of higher value-added business across new growth industries, she said, such as information technology, healthcare and the environment, and it will succeed when Korea’s advanced technologies and innovative capabilities can be combined with Africa’s creative human resources, she said.
President Park Geun-hye welcomes high-ranking officials from African countries during a dinner on Oct. 25.
Lastly, the president stressed the need to develop bilateral cooperation, which has traditionally been limited to solely between government bodies, and make sure it becomes a comprehensive form of cooperation that involves private, financial and international organizations. To this end, a variety of strategies should be developed which can encourage various public and financial institutions and businesses in Korea and African countries alike to engage in development projects.
In order to help the seeds of economic growth sprout successfully, the Korean government has decided to provide a financial aid package worth USD 10 billion that covers KOAFEC trust funds, economic development and cooperation funds, funds for knowledge sharing and export finance for infrastructure development.
“With these efforts, we will do our best to conduct projects aimed at Korea-Africa co-prosperity, that covers agricultural reform, industrial development, regional economic integration and improvements in the quality of life in African countries,” the president concluded.
By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
whan23@korea.kr
