(AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene). South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, center, receives applause from Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, left, and African Union Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, right, at the end of Geun-hye’s remarks at the A…
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President Park Geun-hye unveiled on Friday Korea’s Africa initiative that will offer education and vocational training for thousands of young people in the continent over the next five years.
It is the first-ever visit by a South Korean president to Ethiopia and part of Park’s four-nation tour to Africa and France.
Prior to delivering the speech, Park met with Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission at the headquarters of the African Union. She vowed to cooperate with the African Union for education and healthcare of African girls, too.
Park also vowed to help strengthen Africa’s public health sector in order to combat epidemic diseases. Park also outlined a development project, “Korean Aid”, in which trucks will deliver health, food and cultural services from Korea to the African people.
The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said the latest trip is expected to assist economic and social development of the three African countries and pave the way for South Korean companies to make headway into these markets with good growth potential. Seoul will also share its know-how on socio-economic development, which it learned particularly through Korea’s Saemaul Undong, a movement of modernizing rural communities.
Park will be the first South Korean president to visit Uganda, a traditional ally of North Korea. According to the president, Korea’s technology and capital, when combined with Africa’s abundant human and natural resources, could be a catalyst for the continent’s economy.
President Park Geun-hye met with more than a dozen South Korean troops on Friday to boost their morale on the third day of her state visit to Ethiopia. “What Korea genuinely wishes to share with Africa, above all, is the “we can do it” attitude…”
The soldiers, including seven officers, are members of the 293-strong South Korean contingent in South Sudan on a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
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After delivering her speech, Park attended the Korea-Ethiopia Business Forum with about 150 businessman and heads of economic organizations.
