Addis Ababa, 14 July 2015 (WIC) – Korea and the African Union (AU), comprised of over 50 countries in Africa, plan to hold their fourth joint economic forum in Ethiopia in December, according to Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.
“The two sides have been discussing ways to run the Korea-Africa Forum here in Addis Ababa since last year,” Yun was quoted as saying by his ministry in a press release issued Tuesday.
He also said Seoul is considering President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Africa next year, adding the forum could serve as a catalyst.
His comments came during a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Monday, on the sidelines of the third International Conference on Financing for Development.
Organized by the United Nations, the round table forum opened Monday for a four-day run.
It attracted over 7,000 delegates, including heads of state, foreign and finance ministers, entrepreneurs and institutional stakeholders from around the world. They are discussing issues regarding the mobilization of resources and increases in international financial and technical cooperation for global economic development.
Desalegn, who also served as the chairman of the AU from 2013 to 2014, told Yun that he looks forward to seeing Park, adding he invited her for a visit when they met at the 2013 G20 summit in Russia
Desalegn attended the G20 summit back then as the leader of the AU.
Korea and the AU have held three forums in Seoul in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
The related ministers from the two sides discussed ways to enhance their cooperation in various fields such as Seoul’s financial aid for humanitarian purposes and green growth initiatives.
Park has not visited Africa since she took office in February 2013, triggering criticism that Korea lags behind China and Japan on capitalizing on ties with African countries. (koreatimes.co.kr)