Seoul to double Africa development aid to $ 214 mln by 2012
November 25, 2009 10:55 am
SEOUL, Nov. 25 — South Korea and the African Union (AU) unveiled a fresh vision Tuesday for ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and work together on global issues, opening a new chapter in their rapidly developing relations.
In the ministerial South Korea-Africa Forum here, the second of its kind, Seoul pledged to double its development assistance to the continent to US$ 214 million by 2012. It also said it will allow a greater number of African industrial trainees — as many as 5,000 — to come to South Korea, and will increase the number of South Korean aid workers in Africa to 1,000 by 2012.
"We agree to strengthen our partnership in order to support Africa in eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development as well as to promote the prosperity of African countries and Korea," the Framework for Korea-Africa Development Cooperation read.
The document is an updated version of South Korea's African Initiative in 2006, in which it announced a plan to triple its Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the continent to US$ 100 million by 2008.
The South Korea-Africa Forum was launched in 2006 as part of Seoul's efforts to bolster ties with African countries. It is supposed to take place every three years.
This year's meeting brought together more than 120 top African officials, including Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping and foreign ministers from 15 countries selected in accordance with the AU's 2006 Banjul Formula.
"Korea succeeded in building a model economy in becoming a developed country. I'm sure that in the future we will collectively develop our cooperation with Korea," Wade said in a speech at the forum, adding he admires what South Korea has achieved in the education field.
Wade noted that Africa's population will soon top 1 billion but said that poor education remains a huge problem. "Senegal spends 40 percent of budget in education and training," he said.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said in his own congratulatory message that "South Korea wants to share its know-how for high-speed economic growth that has been accomplished over half a century."
The AU head thanked South Korea for "its resolve to support Africa in poverty eradication and sustainable development efforts."
"We appreciate Korea for doubling the Official Development Aid by 2012 and for taking into consideration African concerns and priorities like capacity enhancement through training, education, health, human resources, technology transfer, rural and agricultural development as well as other sectors," he said.
South Korea and the other participating nations also agreed to cooperate more closely on global challenges, reaffirming their "common determination" to address climate change and energy security in the Seoul Declaration, which summed up the results of this year's forum.
African representatives also welcomed South Korea's assumption of the chair of the G-20 summit next year, calling for the body to "effectively tackle" the economic crisis.
On the environment, South Korea and the 15 African states adopted "Green Growth Initiative 2009-2012," agreeing to expand channels for dialogue and ultimately form a strong partnership on low-carbon green growth, according to the document.
Seoul in recent years has stepped up its diplomacy efforts towards Africa, with credit and grant-type aid to the continent rising to a total of US$ 107.1 million in 2008, compared to $ 42.4 million in 2005.
The funds, which will include both credit and grant-type aid, will be allocated to a wide range of areas, most notably projects aimed at eradicating poverty and fostering sustainable development.
Two-way trade between South Korea and African countries reached US$ 13.43 billion in 2008, with Seoul's exports to Africa rising 13.7 percent on-year to $ 9.38 billion. In the first four months of 2009, exports to Africa jumped 24.9 percent to $ 2.39 billion.
With the exception of Oceania, Africa is the only region where South Korean exports grew coming into this year.
South Korea has been moving to acquire development rights and stakes in various resource development ventures in Africa for the past several years to better insulate itself from sudden fluctuations in international raw material prices.
Despite having a heavy-industry base, South Korea imports most of its raw materials and resources from abroad. (PNA/Yonhap)
ALM/ebp
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