South Korea advocates for market expansion in new Africa agreement

South Korea is making moves to deepen its ties with African countries, offering market reorientation and technological expertise at the recent Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul. However, despite requests from East African leaders for technology cooperation and balanced trade, South Korea stopped short of promising actual technology transfer to Africa.

During the summit, leaders from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda emphasized the importance of technology transfer, balanced trade, and debt reduction through multilateral lenders. They praised South Korea’s technological advancements but also highlighted the need for technology to be shared and localized in Africa.

Kenyan President William Ruto called for enhanced technology transfer to empower youth and drive economic development. He also highlighted the opportunity for Korean industries to invest in Kenya’s clean energy sector. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan focused on clean cooking solutions as a way to reduce emissions and empower women.

While South Korea did not commit to technology transfer, they pledged to support Africa’s young population through the Tech4Africa initiative and strengthen cooperation in science and digital technology. The two sides also agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges.

The summit also saw the signing of agreements, including a $500 million loan to Uganda for infrastructure development and a $485 million concessional development funding to Kenya for projects like the Konza Digital Media City. South Korea’s support for projects like Kenya-Aist demonstrates their commitment to fostering technological advancements in Africa.

Overall, the summit highlighted the potential for collaboration between Africa and Korea in various sectors, but the issue of technology transfer remains a key challenge that both sides will need to address in future engagements.