South Korea announced that it will host a summit with leaders of 48 countries this week, and also plans to provide assistance in the areas of industrial infrastructure and digital transformation.
Vice Kim Tae-yu said National Security Advisor of South Korea Africa represents a “vital partner” for South Korea to achieve further progress in the industrial field.
At least 30 heads of state will attend the summit in South Korea tomorrow, Tuesday, and delegations from 48 countries will participate. Yoon’s office said that the country’s president and the head of the African Union, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, will issue a joint statement.
On Wednesday, South Korean business leaders will host a business summit focusing on investment, industrial development and food security.
The importance of the South Korea summit for Africa
He stated that “Africa’s strategic importance has become greater than ever before,” pointing out that it is expected to sign agreements aimed at laying the foundation for trade and investment with several countries, which will contribute to establishing the administrative structure necessary to promote free trade and develop customs management systems.
South Korea is one of the world’s largest energy buyers, home to leading semiconductor companies, and the world’s fifth-largest automaker seeking to transition to electricity.
By offering assistance in industrial infrastructure and digital transformation, South Korea is trying to tap a vast and rapidly growing market of 1.4 billion people, the majority of whom are 25 years old or younger.
The African Union comments on the South Korean summit
For its part, the Mauritanian News Agency said that the President of the Republic and Chairman of the African Union, Mohamed Ould Sheikh Al-Ghazouani, arrived on Sunday in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, to participate in the “2024 Korea-Africa Summit,” which will be held on June 4 and 5 in the city of Ilsan and in the capital, Seoul. .
The President of the Republic was received at the airport by Mr. Oh Ki-woong, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Emerging Companies, Hyun Kim, Director of the Protocol Department for the Middle East, and Cydia El-Hajj, Mauritania’s Ambassador accredited to Seoul. In addition to Yeonghan Yoon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to our country.
Participating in this summit, organized under the slogan: “The future we create together: shared growth, sustainability and solidarity.” Heads of African states and governments, officials of international organizations related to Africa, in addition to business leaders in Korea and Africa, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and integration between Korea and the African continent.
Loans from South Korea to African countries
South Korea signed agreements With African countries billions of dollars, to obtain loans worth billions of dollars within the framework of broader deals that will enable “Seoul” to access important mineral resources in Africa and open up a large export market for it.
For its part, Tanzania said it would borrow $2.5 billion from South Korea over the next five years in the form of soft loans, according to Reuters.
Tanzanian presidential spokeswoman Zahra Yunus said on Sunday that Tanzania also signed two agreements on South Korea’s use of ocean resources and minerals in clean energy technologies such as nickel, lithium and graphite.
She added that Tanzanian President Samia Hassan also seeks cooperation in areas including sustainable exploitation of ocean resources, natural gas development, innovative industries, and also in sending her country workers to South Korea.
In another context, Togolese Minister of Agriculture, Likpa Gbegbeni, and Japanese Ambassador to Togo, Katsuya Ikatai, signed a financing agreement worth 1.2 billion francs (about 2 million US dollars) to supply civil and agricultural engineering equipment to Togo.
The Togolese Minister of Agriculture explained, in a press statement, that the agreement is part of the economic and social development program implemented by Japan, adding that this equipment is scheduled to support agricultural development efforts in Togo in light of a multidimensional crisis related in particular to the instability of consumer prices and climate change. .