1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), held the “Africa Day 2016” event at the FKI Conference Center, Seoul, on May 13 to mark the “Africa Day” of the year. The event brought together about 120 people, including Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo, members of the African Diplomatic Corps in the ROK and representatives from leading Korean companies.

2. At the Republic of Korea-Africa networking luncheon, Minister Yun delivered congratulatory remarks, in which he called President Park Geun-hye’s upcoming African tour a journey during which to present a vision of the ROK, Africa’s trustworthy partner in promoting sustainable peace and development on the continent, for co-prosperity and development with Africa. In particular, he added that in the first-ever special address to the African Union to be delivered by an ROK President, President Park will present a blueprint for a new, future-oriented partnership with Africa in such fields as peace, security, economic and development cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

3. Minister Yun also brought attention to various efforts of the ROK government to promote its relations with Africa in such areas as peace, security, development and economy.

4. In the ROK-Africa business session before the luncheon, presentations on success cases of Korean companies in Africa were delivered. In the one-on-one business consultations, the last program of the “Africa Day 2016” event, representatives from Korean companies hoping to enter the African market had an opportunity to consult with African diplomats to the ROK; to gather information on investment for their entry into the African market; and to network with officials from African countries.

5. The success of the “Africa Day 2016” event is seen to reflect the attention and passion of African countries that want to attract investment from the ROK and of Korean companies hoping to expand their presence in African countries. Going forward, the ROK government will hold various events to help the ROK and African countries better understand each other; help boost economic and trade cooperation between the two sides; and support bids of Korean companies to expand their presence in Africa.


* unofficial translation