1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), held the “Africa Day 2017” event at the FKI Conference Center, Seoul, on May 24 to mark the “Africa Day” of the year. The “Africa Day,” which marks the founding of the African Union (AU), falls on May 25.

° The event, which consisted of a networking luncheon and a seminar on financing in Africa, brought together some 100 people, including FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo, chairman Lee Joo-young of the National Assembly Forum for Africa's New Era, Spokesperson Cho June-hyuck of the Foreign Ministry, head Malungo and other members of the African Diplomatic Corps in the Republic of Korea, and representatives from leading Korean companies, who expressed keen interest in boosting economic cooperation between the ROK and Africa.

2. FKI Chairman Huh delivered welcoming remarks at “the ROK-Africa networking luncheon,” in which he voiced confidence that for Africa that is laying the groundwork for growth, the ROK will be its best partner, adding that the FKI, along with Korean companies, will do its utmost to promote economic ties between the two sides.

3. In the congratulatory remarks that followed, Spokesperson Cho brought attention to the fact that despite the geographical distance between them, the ROK and Africa are seeing their exchanges and cooperation increase across the board, including political and social affairs as well as economy. He went on to say that the ROK will share with Africa its experiences in economic growth and democratic development in an effort to work with the region toward stability and prosperity.

° Currently, the ROK government, while seeking to work closely with the AU, which is emerging as a major actor of the international community, is holding bilateral and multilateral consultations and increasing high-level exchanges with African countries.

° The ROK government, having designated its 25 diplomatic missions in Africa as bases for economic cooperation, is strengthening their roles as such. In addition, its “Korea-Africa Center” is making efforts to substantively support bids of Korean companies to build presence in Africa.

* The ROK has 25 diplomatic missions in Africa.

4. In his congratulatory remarks, chairman Lee Joo-young of the National Assembly Forum for Africa's New Era shared with the other participants the outcome of his recent visit to Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, voicing hope that the new ROK government will thoroughly implement policies designed to boost cooperative diplomacy toward Africa.

5. At “the seminar on financing for projects in Africa” held after the luncheon, the participants reviewed ways that Korean companies are raising finance, a critical factor in terms of investment in Africa, and discussed how to resolve this issue.

6. The “Africa Day” event, the fourth of its kind since 2014 that came amid interest of Korean companies in Africa and African countries considering the ROK a development model, is seen to have served as an opportunity to help the ROK and African countries better understand each other and boost economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.


* unofficial translation