Common Vision Statement Crafted in View of South Korea – Africa Summit 2024
On 29 April 2024, delegates from South Korea and Africa converged in Seoul in preparation for the upcoming South Korea-Africa Summit (#SKAS2024) which is scheduled to take place from 4 to 5 Jun 2024.
It will be the first time that South Korea will be hosting a meeting of the highest-level with Africa. In 2023, Kora hosted the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference in Busan. At that time, South Korea pledged a financial package of USD 6 billion to finance projects in Africa.
The main task for this Senior Officials Meeting was to draft a Common Vision Statement which will be released during the Summit. The officials included both resident and non-resident ambassadors to Korea, and high-level officials from a total of 44 out of the 55 in the African Union (AU).
In his welcome remarks, Korean Deputy Minister for Political Affairs CHUNG Byung-won pointed out that Korea and Africa share a painful colonial past.
“The emotional solidarity formed through the histories of colonialism and war and democratic experiences that both Africa and Korea share is expected to be transformed into win-win cooperation and future-oriented relationship through this summit.”
Korean Deputy Minister for Political Affairs CHUNG Byung-won
As the current Chair country of the AU, Mauritania served as the Chief Delegate for Africa. Th SOM discussed a wide range of topics from economic cooperation to developing collaborative strategies in response to global challenges. Key challenges include Energy Access, Healthcare, #ClimateChange and Global Supply Chain (#GSC) disruptions.
A few days before the official opening Summit, the two sides agreed to kick off with a warm-up Ministerial Meeting as from 2 Jun 2024. Previously, a preparatory meeting for the Summit was held in November 2023.
South Korea’s foreign policy supports its vision to become a ‘Global Pivotal State’ while Africa is working towards implementing its vision encapsulated in #Agneda2063.