1. Director-General for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Park Yong-min, together with Director-General of Bilateral Cooperation Louis Leon Boguy Bony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cote d’Ivoire, held the third Republic of Korea- Cote d’Ivoire policy consultation in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on December 7. In the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to step up bilateral cooperation across the board, including economy, trade, development and culture, as well as on the international stage.

※ The third ROK-Cote d’Ivoire policy consultation came a year after the second of its kind held in Yamoussoukro on July 29, 2016.

2. Director-General Park, taking note of the great progress in the relations between the ROK and Cote d’Ivoire, the first African country the ROK had established diplomatic relations with, voiced hope that cooperation on trade and investment between the ROK and Cote d’Ivoire, which is undergoing economic growth based on stable governance, will continue to increase.

° In particular, Director-General Park, expressing hope that the ROK’s experiences in economic development to support will play a role in the national development of Cote d’Ivoire, asked the government of Cote d’Ivoire to pay attention to and support bids of technologically advanced Korean companies to expand their presence in Cote d’Ivoire.

※ The ROK established diplomatic relations with Cote d’Ivoire on July 23, 1961.

3. Director-General Bony, calling the ROK’s experiences in economic development and democratization a good model for national development of Cote d’Ivoire, expressed hope that development cooperation projects under way with the support of the ROK government and companies, including those for road improvement in Abidjan and the construction of a cancer center, will produce good results.

4. Director-General Park, voicing hope to work closely on the full range of international issues with Cote d’Ivoire, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018 and 2019, asked the African country to support the ROK government’s position in inducing North Korea to change its strategic calculus, abandon its nuclear ambitions and come forward for dialogue.

5. At the policy consultation, the two sides discussed various issues concerning substantive cooperation between the ROK and Cote d’Ivoire, the former’s major friendly and cooperative partner in Africa, contributing to efforts of the ROK government to expand its diplomatic horizon and achieve diplomatic diversification.


* unofficial translation