Source: Korea Times
April 1, 2011
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The nation’s top diplomat will embark on a week-long trip to three African nations, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and Ethiopia, today to help Korean firms in their bid to secure business opportunities.
Kim Sung-hwan is the first Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade who will visit the DR Congo and Ethiopia. Following his predecessor’s visit to Gabon in 1980, this is a Korean foreign minister’s second visit to the African nation in nearly 30 years.
Kim is scheduled to hold talks with his counterparts in the three countries, Paul Toungui of Gabon, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba of DR Congo and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe of Ethiopia, to exchange views on regional security and work closely together on issues of mutual interest.
After talks with the African foreign ministers, Kim is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to the leaders of the nations – President of Gabon Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba, President of DR Congo Joseph Kabila Kabange and Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
In Gabon, Kim will discuss ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in petroleum and energy fields with his counterpart.
A diplomatic source said that Korea’s state-run Korea Gas Corporation is interested in a petroleum bid in the African nation. Mindful of this he added Kim will call on the Gabon officials to consider KOGAS as a business partner in the project.
Kim is expected to tout the extensive expertise in infrastructure of South Korean firms for the building of the Port of Banana, a sea port, and water filtration plant project by the DR Congo government.
Seoul is also striving to win the bid to develop an oil field there.
“Negotiations on the infrastructure-petroleum bid swap are underway between South Korea and DR Congo. The foreign minister will try to facilitate the process in order to help a deal progress or seal it completely,” an official told The Korea Times, asking not to be named.
If this goes well, he said “a positive outcome” could be announced sometime this summer.
The purpose of the foreign minister’s trip to Ethiopia is over official development assistance to the African nation.
Ethiopia dispatched troops to South Korea when the nation was fighting the North in the Korean War.
Kim will discuss ways to help Ethiopian war veterans with his counterpart.
The South Korean foreign minister is also scheduled to meet with Jean Ping, chairman of the commission of the African Union, to discuss issues concerning a Korea-Africa forum to be held in 2012.
Meetings with Korean nationals and leaders of Korean firms based in the African nations will be squeezed into Kim’s schedule.
Kim’s trip to the three African nations came months after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade unveiled related foreign policy strategy.
The foreign ministry announced plans to bolster diplomacy with emerging nations, including African countries that are endowed with rich natural resources.
Earlier, the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China drew global attention after Goldman Sachs predicted that these economies will quickly expand.
In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) created a new acronym, dubbed CIVETS for Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
In January, Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, noted that these “CIVETS countries are touted as hot markets because they have diverse economies, fast-growing populations, relatively stable political environments and the potential to produce outsized returns in the future.”
The changing diplomatic landscape featuring the growing economic clout of emerging nations has necessitated governments to change their strategies accordingly.
Korea addressed the trend for global power diffusion in its diplomacy posture.
The foreign ministry plans to place more diplomats in foreign missions based in emerging nations, such as Africa, Latin America and Asia, to foster diplomacy with these nations.
The nation’s top diplomat will embark on a week-long trip to three African nations, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and Ethiopia, today to help Korean firms in their bid to secure business opportunities.
Kim Sung-hwan is the first Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade who will visit the DR Congo and Ethiopia. Following his predecessor’s visit to Gabon in 1980, this is a Korean foreign minister’s second visit to the African nation in nearly 30 years.
Kim is scheduled to hold talks with his counterparts in the three countries, Paul Toungui of Gabon, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba of DR Congo and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe of Ethiopia, to exchange views on regional security and work closely together on issues of mutual interest.
After talks with the African foreign ministers, Kim is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to the leaders of the nations – President of Gabon Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba, President of DR Congo Joseph Kabila Kabange and Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
In Gabon, Kim will discuss ways to facilitate bilateral cooperation in petroleum and energy fields with his counterpart.
A diplomatic source said that Korea’s state-run Korea Gas Corporation is interested in a petroleum bid in the African nation. Mindful of this he added Kim will call on the Gabon officials to consider KOGAS as a business partner in the project.
Kim is expected to tout the extensive expertise in infrastructure of South Korean firms for the building of the Port of Banana, a sea port, and water filtration plant project by the DR Congo government.
Seoul is also striving to win the bid to develop an oil field there.
“Negotiations on the infrastructure-petroleum bid swap are underway between South Korea and DR Congo. The foreign minister will try to facilitate the process in order to help a deal progress or seal it completely,” an official told The Korea Times, asking not to be named.
If this goes well, he said “a positive outcome” could be announced sometime this summer.
The purpose of the foreign minister’s trip to Ethiopia is over official development assistance to the African nation.
Ethiopia dispatched troops to South Korea when the nation was fighting the North in the Korean War.
Kim will discuss ways to help Ethiopian war veterans with his counterpart.
The South Korean foreign minister is also scheduled to meet with Jean Ping, chairman of the commission of the African Union, to discuss issues concerning a Korea-Africa forum to be held in 2012.
Meetings with Korean nationals and leaders of Korean firms based in the African nations will be squeezed into Kim’s schedule.
Kim’s trip to the three African nations came months after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade unveiled related foreign policy strategy.
The foreign ministry announced plans to bolster diplomacy with emerging nations, including African countries that are endowed with rich natural resources.
Earlier, the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China drew global attention after Goldman Sachs predicted that these economies will quickly expand.
In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) created a new acronym, dubbed CIVETS for Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
In January, Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, noted that these “CIVETS countries are touted as hot markets because they have diverse economies, fast-growing populations, relatively stable political environments and the potential to produce outsized returns in the future.”
The changing diplomatic landscape featuring the growing economic clout of emerging nations has necessitated governments to change their strategies accordingly.
Korea addressed the trend for global power diffusion in its diplomacy posture.
The foreign ministry plans to place more diplomats in foreign missions based in emerging nations, such as Africa, Latin America and Asia, to foster diplomacy with these nations.
