Seoul-Africa Dialogue Held to Discuss Strengthening Cooperation in Health and Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea-Africa Foundation held the "3rd Seoul-Africa Dialogue" on the 8th to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between Korea and Africa.

In his opening remarks, Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, evaluated that African countries showed strong resilience through continent-wide cooperation in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and expressed a commitment to solidarity and cooperation going forward. The opening ceremony was attended by Smile Shergi, Executive Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union (AU), Carlos Bungu, Head of the African Diplomatic Corps in Korea, and others.

Vice Minister Choi said, "African countries took swift and decisive measures learned from past epidemic responses such as Ebola, and showed strong resilience through continent-wide cooperation centered on the Africa CDC (Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Both sides have engaged in unprecedented mutual cooperation and will continue to overcome COVID-19 together with Africa."

Korea has so far provided rapid COVID-19 response support worth a total of 160 million USD to 53 out of 54 African countries. In particular, African countries such as Morocco, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea supported the return of Korean nationals by operating charter flights to Korea for the purchase of quarantine supplies.

Vice Minister Choi emphasized, "As part of efforts to strengthen global infectious disease response, Korea has designated the Africa CDC as a key partner for quarantine cooperation and is expanding health cooperation with Africa," adding, "We hope that public-private cooperation in the health sector between Korea and African countries will continue to strengthen, as seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Senegal."

Following the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he announced plans to expand cooperation with governments and companies. Vice Minister Choi stated, "With the launch of AfCFTA, a unified market worth 2.5 trillion USD will emerge in the global economy, and we plan to expand cooperation with governments and companies to promote Africa's industrialization," adding, "The Korean government will strive to strengthen development support for Africa, including sharing our development experience, as a genuine partner in Africa's path toward sustainable peace by addressing the root causes of political instability."

Meanwhile, Vice Minister Choi mentioned the role of the AU in strengthening Korea-Africa cooperation, urging, "Since Korea continues to contribute to the Korea-Africa Union Cooperation Fund and the African Union Peace Fund, please pay attention to the Korea-Africa Forum scheduled for next year as part of deepening cooperation with the African Union."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.