Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Charged by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Mr. Ahmed Attaf, took part in the Africa-Korea Summit, whose work began yesterday in the Korean capital Seoul.
This is the first meeting organized at the summit level between African states and the Republic of Korea, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which specifies that the participants will discuss, for two days, ways and prospects for strengthening partnership between the African and Korean parties in various mutually beneficial areas.
The first day of work was devoted to public debate and the second to cooperation in the field of business.
In a speech delivered on this occasion, Mr. Attaf affirmed that “Algeria aspires for the high-level Africa-Korea partnership to bring qualitative added value”, emphasizing “the need for this partnership to go beyond the limited scope of the relationship between donors and beneficiaries and to respond to the priorities of the continent, ensuring that there is no distinction or discrimination between children of the same continent.
Concerning the political aspect of the Africa-Korea partnership, the minister welcomed the “level of coordination between the African bloc in the Security Council, or Group A3, and the Republic of Korea”, welcoming “the support and vote of the South Korea in favor of the full admission of Palestine to the UN.
As an extension of this honorable position, Mr. Attaf “wished to see the Republic of Korea recognize the State of Palestine”.
Regarding the economic aspect of this partnership, the minister welcomed the initiatives and offers of cooperation presented by the Republic of Korea to strengthen the partnership with Africa in seven (7) key areas, affirming that “these areas fit perfectly with the priorities of Agenda 2063”.
Attaf also welcomed the “concrete measures announced by the Republic of Korea to boost Korean investments in Africa and increase the value of development aid intended for African countries”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs concluded his speech by maintaining that “Algeria, which is linked to the Republic of Korea, by a bilateral strategic partnership, will spare no effort to contribute to the realization of the various programs and activities adopted by the Summit , serving the objectives of peace, security and development in Africa”.
It should be noted that for South Korea, this summit is of fundamental importance in terms of its future economic and trade relations. The South Korean government views Africa as a key hub for the “Global South” and therefore decided to hold the first-ever Korea-Africa summit to strengthen economic cooperation with Africa.
The African continent is considered the “last market of the future” given its abundant resources and large population of more than a billion people. Despite this potential, indicators of economic cooperation between Korea and Africa are so far very marginal and relations with this continent have until now only focused on development aid.
And it is precisely on this summit, considered as a starting point, that Seoul is banking on the development of its relations with the African continent.
Placed under the slogan “The future, we create it together”, the summit confirms the desire of the South Korean authorities to have a more significant presence on this continent rich in natural resources.