afrol News, 20 November - Korean officials are currently sharing their vast wealth of development experience with their counterparts of ten southern African countries [Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe] in Cape Town, South Africa.

Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) four-day meeting, according to African Development Bank whose Executive Director co-Chairs the KOAFEC Consultative Group, aims to provide participants with an overview of the Asian giant’s economic development experiences and to explore possibilities for applying lessons learned in African countries.

The Deputy Korean Premier and Minister of Finance and Economy, Okyu Kwon, who addressed the opening ceremony, described the meeting as a timely opportunity that needs to better explore ways to accelerate poverty reduction efforts in Africa. He said it will also help improve governance and economic performance in Africa.

Kwon described Africa as a “continent full of undiscovered potential that has been receiving unprecedented attention from the global community in recent years.”

The Korean official said his country may not enjoy fast and exclusive economic growth, it is however endowed with “the development experience that can be the most realistic and suitable model for Africa.”

He said the measures outlined in the World Bank’s current Africa Action Plan: focus on results, capable states and improving governance, strengthening the drivers of growth, ensuring shared growth; and aid effectiveness as similar to the economic development measures pursued by the Korean government.

Kwon said the Korean government focused its resources on its most competitive areas with strong and capable leadership and made sure that foreign aid allocated in areas that could produce the most results as well as actively opened its doors to overseas trade “to venture out of our under-developed domestic markets and to expose Korean companies to global competition”.

It also focused on educating and nurturing highly skilled labour and on developing social safety nets, once the economy expanded to a certain level, to ensure that the benefits of growth were broadly shared. He hoped “the workshop will serve as a vehicle through which Korea can contribute to the miraculous transition that Africa is soon to embark on.”

Also addressing the meeting were the AfDB Executive Director Bruce Montador and the Chief Economist, Louis Kasekende.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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