The inaugural Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul on June 4-5 is barely two weeks away. I hail the launch of the bilateral partnership at the summit level. The Korea-Africa Summit is expected to be attended by representatives from 54 African countries, making it the largest Africa summit ever hosted by any country. It will also become the largest international gathering under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Of course, the sheer number of attendees does not always justify the importance or value of the gathering.
The rapid population growth and significant potential of Africa provide ample justification for the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit. Africa is home to 1.3 billion people, which is forecast to account for a quarter of the world's population by 2050. More importantly, a third of its population will be young, aged between 15 and 24. It certainly is an envy of an aging country like Korea. Africa boasts the largest free trade area by the number of member states, following the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in 2018. Africa also possesses 30 percent of the global critical minerals essential for the global response to climate change, energy transition, and the restructuring of industrial processes. So, it is no coincidence that the G20 leaders in New Delhi in September 2023 agreed to give the African Union (AU) a permanent member status at the G20, second only to the European Union.
Korea is credited with bringing development into the G20 agenda during its presidency in 2010, endeavoring to bridge the gap between the developing and developed world. It eventually evolved into the Global South at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last year. Korea's development agenda departed from the previous development assistance, which was often characterized by charity-like aid, toward a "learn-how-to-fish" approach to sustainable development assistance. For instance, simply purchasing hundreds and thousands of computers for development partners will yield only ephemeral results if the assistance is not accompanied by training individuals who can manage their use, maintain them, and provide educational support. In development cooperation, sustainability is achieved through human resources development and capacity building.
I've always believed that Korea has a noble cause and mission to share its unique achievements in industrialization and democratization with development partners. Korea's experience is difficult to replicate in today's context, and it may not even be adequate given the changing times. However, lessons from its experience of both successes and failures can still provide useful insights such as the importance of political leadership, right policies, education, land reform and innovation.
Africa is Korea's major Official Development Assistance (ODA) partner. Given this, Korea is set to double its ODA to Africa by 2030. Korea is also committed to increasing the quality and efficacy of its partnership with Africa. Thus, it is imperative to provide tailored support to meet the needs and conditions of each African partner country. Equally important is conducting evaluations after the completion of each cooperation project to assess its effectiveness and glean lessons for improved future collaboration. A more balanced evaluation will require the involvement of credible international donor organizations and multilateral development institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank. By doing so, Korea can effectively multilateralize its development cooperation efforts and broaden the scope and range of issues addressed through collaboration.
The Korean government plans to present seven priority areas of cooperation to the African partners in the summit, mainly in trade and investment; food security, global supply chains, climate change, and public health; energy and infrastructure; human resources development; technology and digital transformation; mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges; and peace and security.
The seven priority areas are all symbiotically and organically intertwined for successful development cooperation. Take, for instance, food security cooperation, such as the K-Rice Belt initiative. It has been successful in mostly West African countries and the Korean government has signed a memorandum of understanding with 10 nations in the region. K-Rice Belt is an outcome of multilayered, complex cooperation as it involves investments, infrastructure development, energy, technology, human resources development and people-to-people exchanges. Ensuring sustainability in the K-Rice Belt initiative to benefit a greater number of people necessitates the establishment of transparent storage and distribution networks, as well as efficient transportation systems. This entails the development of both physical and digital infrastructure, alongside capacity building efforts.
Collaboration in climate response and energy transition is critical to both partners. Africa has critical minerals necessary for the energy transition and ample supplies of solar energy and wind. Korea is a resource poor country with climate technologies and capital. The conditions the two are in already offer much room for cooperation. If Korea and Africa can agree on an energy certificate framework, Korea can further promote renewable energy.
I expect concrete, deliverable initiatives to come out of the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit that will support the AU's Agenda 2063 and Korea's Global Pivotal State.
Korea's engagement with Africa for shared prosperity with sustainability in the spirit of solidarity will lay the groundwork for bilateral, regional and global growth, peace and security.
Dr. Song Kyung-jin (kj_song@hotmail.com) led the Institute for Global Economics, based in Seoul, and served as special adviser to the chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Seoul G20 Summit in the Office of the President. Presently, she is executive director of the Innovative Economy Forum.