Korean, African leaders agree to open dialogue on critical minerals, Korea Herald reports

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province — Leaders of South Korea and African countries agreed to launch a multilateral dialogue on essential minerals to ensure their stable supply and promote technological cooperation at a summit in Seoul to redefine diplomatic and economic ties between Asia’s fourth largest economy. and the continent on Tuesday.

In the first-ever summit held by the Korean government with African countries to strengthen mutual trust and solidarity, Seoul pledged to provide up to $10 billion in development assistance to Africa over the next six years. next years until 2030. 3 billion dollars in humanitarian aid across the world in 2023. The Seoul government has also committed to supporting the entry of local businesses into Africa through cumulative funding of 14 billion dollars in exports until 2030.

“The launch of the Korea-Africa Critical Minerals Dialogue will set a global example of sustainable development by seeking mutually beneficial cooperation and stability in the industrial supply chain,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a conference in press organized during the summit.

The launch of the dialogue comes as the mineral supply crisis has highlighted the need for South Korea – a powerhouse of electric vehicles and secondary batteries that is home to the likes of Hyundai Motor, Kia and LG Energy Solution – to ensure the resilience of its industry. Such needs from South Korea could pave the way for creating job opportunities and revitalizing local economies in Africa, according to their joint statement.

Along with the multilateral dialogue, South Korea signed two memorandums of understanding regarding trade in critical mineral resources with African countries, according to Yoon’s office.

At the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit held in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, President Yoon and delegations representing 48 African countries also recognized that their relations are mutually beneficial and that it is high time they jointly build a future on the three pillars of shared growth: sustainability and solidarity, showed a joint declaration. The Korea-Africa summit was the largest diplomatic event held so far by the Yoon government, which presented its vision of the country as a “global pivot state.”

Tuesday’s joint statement “will serve as a compass for cooperation for the future of South Korea and Africa,” according to Yoon.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, chair of the African Union, attend a joint press conference at KINTEX, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

The summit also led to the signing of 12 pacts between South Korea and African countries, including six framework agreements on trade and investment promotion. Negotiations on economic partnership agreements also began with the multilateral summit with two other countries.

Trade and investment promotion framework agreements refer to non-binding agreements that exclude any negotiations on tariff reductions, while an economic partnership agreement not only involves tariff negotiations but also addresses other topics that trade, such as investment, services, intellectual property and relationships between people. -exchanges of people, among others.

34 MoUs were also signed to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, maritime and fishing industries and other sectors.

“Today we live in the era of complex transnational crises,” Yoon said in his summit opening speech. “The challenges of climate change, pandemics, natural disasters, food insecurity and supply chain instability can only be overcome through international cooperation and solidarity.”

High-level consultative bodies between South Korea and African countries, such as the Customs Commissioners Meeting and the Chief Statisticians Meeting, will also be established, in addition to the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Conference and the brand new meeting of Korea-Africa Agriculture Ministers.

They also agreed to explore opportunities to evaluate the results of Tuesday’s event and hold the next summit, at a meeting of foreign ministers of South Korea and African countries in 2026. The The last one took place on Monday.

Regarding security cooperation, South Korea and African countries will join forces to address security challenges.

For example, African countries, which hold a quarter of the votes in the United Nations, will work to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula by respecting United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at imposing sanctions on North Korea , in a context of intensifying provocations from North Korea in recent years. on several occasions, including missile threats, trash barrages sent via balloons, and attempts to send a spy satellite into orbit.

In return, South Korea will continue to work to ensure peace and security on the African continent, consistent with the operations of the South Korean Navy’s Cheonghae unit in Somali waters and assisting in the reconstruction of the United Nations Hanbit peacekeeping unit in South Sudan.

Present at the multilateral summit were representatives from 48 African countries – excluding six African Union members, Sudan, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon – as well as leaders of the African Union, African Development Bank, African Continental Free Trade Association. Zonal Secretariat and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.