![](https://frontpageafricaonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JNB.jpg)
MONROVIA – President Joseph Boakai led a high-powered delegation to participate in the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, which focused on trade and investment. As the summit concluded, FrontPageAfrica learned that several African countries, including Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, signed 50 preliminary agreements and memorandums of understanding to promote cooperation in fields such as trade, energy, minerals, and various other industrial and economic sectors.
By Gerald C. Koineyeneh – [email protected]
At the summit’s conclusion, the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced that 12 memorandums of understanding had been signed between South Korea and 11 African countries. Additionally, South Korea and Tanzania have announced the start of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to deepen trade exchanges. Seoul has reached a similar understanding with Morocco to strengthen relations on supply chains, the digital industry, and broader trade issues. The South Korean government also signed a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework with eight African countries, including Ghana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, to facilitate trade and investment. Agreements on critical minerals were signed with Tanzania and Madagascar.
Agreements with Other Countries
Kenya secured a $485 million (Sh63 billion) concessional development loan from South Korea. According to local media, President William Ruto stated that the facility includes $238 million (Sh30.9 billion) for the Konza Digital Media City Project, which will bolster Kenya’s digital ecosystem and expand opportunities for youth in the creative economy.
Ethiopia, a fast-growing economy with 126 million people, signed a $1 billion financing deal over four years for infrastructure, science and technology, health, and urban development, according to Reuters.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is seeking cooperation in sectors including the sustainable use of ocean resources, the development of natural gas deposits, creative industries, and labor supply to South Korea, according to reports.
Uganda and Ghana also signed bilateral agreements with the Asian country.
Liberia’s Participation
Liberia is yet to announce any signed agreements. FrontPageAfrica reached out to Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah, a member of Boakai’s delegation, for comments on Liberia’s gains from the summit and whether any agreements were signed, but he did not respond by press time.
However, on the sidelines of the summit, President Boakai held a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and called for assistance to address Liberia’s multifaceted challenges, encompassing agriculture, infrastructure, human resource development, renewable energy, education, technology, fisheries, policy development, and port construction – all key components of his ARREST agenda (Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism).
According to the Executive Mansion, President Boakai expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit and reiterated Liberia’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Korea.
In response, President Yoon assured President Boakai of Korea’s willingness to forge partnerships in developing roads and other infrastructure, contingent upon detailed proposals. He also committed to providing scholarships for Liberian students to pursue studies in various disciplines in Korea and advancing agricultural development in Liberia, focusing on transferring agricultural technologies and rice production.
The Korean leader also pledged support for enhancing Liberia’s fisheries sector, renewable energy development, and the transfer of digital capabilities and technologies to Liberia. He emphasized Korea’s unwavering commitment to aiding Liberia in achieving its development objectives and overcoming its challenges, ultimately contributing to the well-being of the Liberian populace.
Over the past four decades, South Korea has demonstrated remarkable economic growth and global integration, becoming a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, its GDP per capita was comparable to levels in poorer countries in Africa and Asia. By 2004, South Korea had joined the trillion-dollar club of world economies.
As the developed world seeks cooperation from Africa to tap into its vast natural resources, South Korea has now joined the effort, beginning with the Korea-Africa Summit.