The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the ‘2025 Korea-Africa Trade and Industry Cooperation Forum’ at the Koreana Hotel in Seoul on December 15. The forum was attended by Deputy Minister Park Jung-seong, Chairman Kim Young-chae of the Korea-Africa Foundation, Shafik Hashadi, Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in Korea and Moroccan Ambassador to Korea, and over 100 participants including ambassadors from 12 African countries, businesspeople, and experts.
The forum was organized to review the achievements of economic cooperation with Africa, which is emerging as a new base for production, logistics, and resource supply chains amid rapidly changing global trade environments such as strengthened protectionism and supply chain restructuring. Additionally, in connection with the G20 Summit held for the first time on the African continent in November, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA reviewed the outcomes of economic cooperation events held intensively in major African countries in November and discussed ways to materialize future cooperation.
In his welcoming speech, Deputy Minister Park emphasized that cooperation between Korea and Africa is a wise choice to turn crises into opportunities and achieve mutual growth in the face of global trade challenges. He stated that Korea will actively pursue trade agreements with African countries and deepen cooperation in supply chains for key minerals and manufacturing. He also mentioned plans to expand cooperation in infrastructure, considering local demand in Africa.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy awarded commendations to two individuals, Kang Moon-soo, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, and Lee So-won, Team Leader at the Korea Economic Association, for their contributions to trade cooperation with the Middle East and Africa.