President Mr. Yoon : “Exploring ways to provide a stable supply of key minerals with African countries”
President Yoon Seok-yeol announced on the 4th that he will work with African countries to find ways to cooperate in the stable supply of key minerals, while also working to respond to the climate change crisis and strengthen food security capabilities.
President Yoon expressed this opinion in his opening speech at the Korea-Africa Summit held on this day, saying, “If we combine each other’s strengths and find sustainable solutions, we will be able to overcome global challenges and crises together.” did.
President Yoon began his opening remarks by saying, “Today, we live in an era of transnational complex crises. Challenges such as climate change, pandemics, natural disasters, food crises, and supply chain instability can only be overcome through international cooperation and solidarity.” “There is,” he emphasized.
He then said, “Korea wants to overcome today’s crisis and create tomorrow’s prosperity together through a win-win partnership with Africa,” and presented three directions for cooperation, including shared growth, sustainability, and solidarity.
First, regarding shared growth, the President emphasized, “In order for us all to grow together, not just one side, we must solidify the institutional foundation for smooth exchange and cooperation.”
He said, “In terms of trade, we need to expedite the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF), and in terms of investment, we need to promote exchanges between companies on both sides by expanding the investment protection agreement.”
“In order to further promote cooperation with Africa, we plan to expand the scale of official development assistance (ODA) to $10 billion by 2030,” he said. “To promote trade and investment by Korean companies in Africa, we plan to expand approximately “We also plan to provide export financing worth $14 billion,” he said.
President Yoon went on to mention the importance of sustainability and emphasized, “If we find sustainable solutions by combining each other’s strengths, we will be able to overcome global challenges and crises together.”
He said, “Like the construction of the Olkaria geothermal power plant in Kenya and the battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Africa, Korea will continue to expand the ‘green ladder’ and respond to the climate change crisis together with African countries.”
He also said, “We will strive to strengthen Africa’s food security capabilities,” and “We will actively promote agricultural technology transfer and rural community revitalization projects, and contribute to improving food self-sufficiency through the expansion of the K-Rice Belt project.”
In particular, he said, “We will seek sustainable cooperation measures on issues directly related to future growth, such as stable supply of key minerals and digital transformation.”
President Yoon finally emphasized, “We must practice strong solidarity.”
President Yoon said, “The Republic of Korea’s Cheonghae Unit is currently contributing to protecting peace and security in Africa in the waters of Somalia, and the Hanbit Unit is in South Sudan.” He added, “We will continue to actively participate in efforts to strengthen peace and security in Africa.” “We will further strengthen cooperation with Africa on the international stage,” he said.
He added, “In particular, we will work harder to promote global peace while serving as a member of the Security Council for the next two years.”
In addition, he said, “We, the Republic of Korea, will work together with our African friends to thoroughly implement UN Security Council resolutions and protect peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community.”
President Yoon concluded by saying, “Today’s summit will be an important milestone that signals the new beginning of Korea-Africa cooperation. I hope that we can all begin the great journey together to realize the ‘future we create together.’” said.
Editor Miso
