The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said on the 23rd that, taking the Group of 20 (G20) summit as an opportunity, they plan to hold economic cooperation events in eight major African countries in November–December to carry out export support activities.
About 270 state-run and leading corporations in Africa and about 120 Korean corporations took part in the events. By country, they were held in the form of seminars and export consultation sessions to support exports in promising sectors such as energy, plants, medical, and consumer goods.
At the "Korea–South Africa Business Plaza" held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 11th–12th, 73 African corporations in sectors including infrastructure and materials, parts and equipment held one-on-one consultations with Korean corporations.
One Korean corporation achieved results, including signing three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to apply satellite-based agricultural technology locally. At the event held in Cairo, Egypt, on the 5th–21st, Korean corporations held consultations with 21 key ordering entities to explore project cooperation plans.
According to KOTRA, enthusiasm for Korean consumer goods continues in Africa as well. In particular, active business consultations on beauty and food in countries such as South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana led to the signing of 13 contracts and MOUs.
Kang Kyung-sung, president of KOTRA, said, "The young continent of Africa is growing rapidly as a current growth engine, not a future market," and added, "We will do our best with follow-up support such as supply chain stability, project cooperation, and the spread of K-consumer goods so that the bilateral economic cooperation agenda can lead to actual business cooperation."