South Korea will expand development aid to Africa and pursue deeper cooperation with the region of 1.3 billion people on critical minerals and technology, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday as he hosted dozens of African leaders in the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit, AP reported.
In a speech, Yoon urged African countries to take firmer steps in an international pressure campaign against North Korea. The North recently accelerated its tests of nuclear-capable weapons systems and flew hundreds of balloons to drop tons of trash and manure on South Korea as relations between the war-divided Koreas worsen.
Trade with African nations currently accounts for less than 2% of South Korea’s total imports and exports.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, South Korea and the African nations announced that they will start high-level talks aimed at improving cooperation over minerals. The African continent is a major source of nickel, cobalt, graphite and lithium, which are crucial for technology industries such as semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles, which are major export items for South Korea.
South Korean officials say expanding ties in minerals and other natural resources would help improve the country’s supply chain resilience in key technology industries. There are concerns in South Korea that it may face growing challenges in securing a stable supply of core minerals since it has secured a much smaller number of mines than the United States, China and Japan.
Yoon said South Korea also plans to expand its cumulative development aid contributions to Africa to around $10 billion by 2030 and separately provide $14 billion in export financing to encourage South Korean investment in the region.
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