Jang Sung-min Visits Newly Elected Kenyan President Ruto, Requests Support for 2030 Busan Expo

African National Leaders Meet in Succession to Appeal for Support in Hosting Expo
Director Jang: "We Will Share the Value and Know-How of Korea's Economic Growth as a Former Least Developed Country"

Jang Sung-min, Director of Future Strategy Planning at the Presidential Office (left in the photo), met with William Ruto, the newly appointed President of Kenya, on the 12th (local time) to request support for the 2030 Busan World Expo. / Photo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Jang Sung-min, Future Strategy Planning Officer of the Presidential Office, who visited Kenya to congratulate William Ruto on his inauguration as the new president of Kenya, met with President Ruto and requested support for hosting the 2030 Busan World Expo.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 16th, Officer Jang met with President Ruto on the 12th (local time), the day before the inauguration ceremony, and conveyed President Yoon's congratulatory message along with this request.

Officer Jang shared Korea’s experience of developing into one of the top ten economies and expressed the intention to contribute to Kenya’s development through cooperation in various fields such as science and technology, IT, and agricultural technology.

At the meeting, Officer Jang presented a vision to overcome global challenges such as the pandemic, climate change, and digital divide through the 2030 Busan World Expo, and conveyed the intention to share Korea’s development experience with African countries, appealing for their support.

President Ruto expressed gratitude for President Yoon’s special interest and responded that he wishes to visit Korea soon to directly observe the various development experiences Korea can transfer to Kenya. He added, “We need to solve urgent issues such as water, food, and climate change, and expand infrastructure including ultra-high-speed digital communication networks and dam construction,” emphasizing, “Korea’s interest is needed in various fields, and I hope to further expand bilateral cooperation in specific sectors.”

Officer Jang recently met with key figures from African countries one after another to appeal for support for the 2030 Busan Expo bid. Taking advantage of attending the luncheon event for President Ruto’s inauguration, he met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Congo Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso, and others to explain efforts to host the 2030 Busan World Expo and request their support.

At these meetings, he emphasized, “Many African countries regard Korea’s rapid economic growth as their economic development model,” and added, “While admiring our rapid economic growth, they also want to benchmark our experiences, know-how, hard work, and policies that made such remarkable economic growth possible.” He further stated, “The fact that Korea intends to share the values and know-how of rapid economic development with many African countries is an amazing asset in eliciting active support and response for the Busan Expo.”

In addition, he conducted diplomatic activities requesting support for the Expo bid by contacting various delegations from the European Union (EU), Sri Lanka, Togo, and others. Notably, Officer Jang also paid a courtesy visit to Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi.

Going forward, he plans to continue negotiations for the Busan Expo bid by contacting high-ranking officials from other African countries such as Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea.

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