아킨우미 아데시아 아프리카개발은행 총재 대담
An African delegation was in Korea recently for a series of events aimed at boosting ties.
Our Kim Min-ji sat down with the president of the African Development Bank to hear his insights on the economic cooperation between Korea and Africa.
The African continent -- known for its abundant natural resources -- has been dubbed the world's last blue ocean.
President Park Geun-hye visited three countries in Africa earlier in the year and also highlighted the potential of the region.
In fact, Korea's investment in the African continent has grown over five-fold since 2006,... while ODA support has jumped seven-fold.
Over the years, Korea has also been sharing its own development experiences with Africa.
" used to be a country so poor with capita income of 160 dollars per person and today it's a country where per capita income is well over 27-thousand. That's incredible, and I think lessons there in terms of what to do with Saemaeul Undong, in terms of agricultural transformation, what you did in terms of industrial development -- those are the things that I believe that Korea is sharing with Africa."
President Akinwumi Adesina was part of an African delegation from 41 countries and regional institutions.... recently in Korea for the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation meeting.
The ministerial meeting was launched ten years ago to share Korea's development experience and boost cooperation in resource development.
Among the achievements at this year's meeting,... Korea decided to carry out projects worth five billion U.S. dollars in Africa over the next two years.
"Access to electricity is critical if you're going to industrialize, so is investment in roads and rail and ports that allows you to get to your manufactured goods and services much faster to the market."
Are there any areas of expertise in which Korea particularly could lend a helping hand, either at the government or private level?
What Korea did in terms of investing in R&D, innovation and human capital development -- I think those are going to be significant areas of how Africa can build better
institutions of training and skills and things like engineering, computer sciences -- this will prepare the young people in Africa for the jobs of tomorrow."
Going forward, the president said he sees Korea as key partner in the continent's road to industrialization,... adding that there's further potential for Korea and Africa to build on their existing alliances and partnerships.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
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