t in Seoul, where a number of Nigerian government officials participated. Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Pankyu, in this interview with KINGSLEY JEREMIAH and STEVE OBUM ORAJIAKU, explains how the summit offered a renewed and strategic partnership between both countries and Africa in general.
A striking outcome at the summit is that the Republic of Korea will commit $14 billion in export financing to support Korean companies investing in Africa while increasing its official development assistance to $10 billion by 2030. What exactly does this translate to in everyday business transactions for the ordinary citizen?
At the summit, the leaders identified seven priority collaboration areas as follows: fostering mutual growth by boosting trade and investment addressing global challenges including food security, global supply chain, climate change and public health; sustainable energy and infrastructure; developing human resources including education, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training ; science technology and digital transformation; promoting mutual understanding and people-to-people...
At the summit, Korea committed to expanding its Korean language classes by establishing more King Sejong Institutes in Africa so that more people can enjoy Korean cultural contents easily. In fact, there is already a King Sejong Institute in Abuja at the Korean Cultural Centre although there was no Korea language class for the past two years due to some difficulties in hiring Korean language teachers.
I think Korea has been especially passionate in promoting food security in Africa, which is really a serious problem now due to climate change. The various initiatives Korea has been implementing in the region such as K-Ricebelt, Korea-Africa Food and Agricultural Cooperation Initiative and knowledge sharing regarding Saemaul Undong movement well show Korea’s efforts in this area. At the Summit, the African leaders appreciated these efforts and Korea committed to doing more.