S. Korea, Ethiopia agree to expand development, economic cooperation

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed Ali agreed Sunday to expand cooperation in the supply chain of critical minerals and development projects, Yoon’s office said.

The two leaders held a dinner meeting at the presidential office in Seoul as Abiy made his first visit to South Korea in five years to attend the South Korea-Africa summit later this week.

The inaugural summit will run from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing together delegations from 48 African countries, including the leaders of 25 of them.

After Sunday’s summit, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and his Ethiopian counterpart, Ahmed Shide, formally signed a revised bilateral Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) framework arrangement to raise the ceiling of the low-interest loans to US$1 billion in 2024-28.

Yoon expressed hope for the upgraded EDCF agreement to discover and support new development projects in Ethiopia.

They also expressed optimism that the bilateral Trade and Investment Promotion Framework signed in Oct
ober 2023 would further expand bilateral trade.

During the meeting, Yoon expressed thanks for Ethiopia’s deployment of troops to defend South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War even before the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1963.

Abiy acknowledged South Korea’s contributions to Ethiopia’s infrastructure, education and science, and expressed hope for enhancing cooperation in mineral development and the defense industry.

The leaders also agreed to closely cooperate on the international stage, including South Korea’s activities as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) for the 2024-25 term.

They shared the view that sanctions on North Korea must be thoroughly implemented to curb its nuclear and missile development, which violates UNSC resolutions.

Source: Yonhap News Agency