South Korea will seek to strengthen energy and other economic cooperation with Africa when it hosts a "Korea-Africa" forum in Seoul this week, officials said Monday.
The three-day forum opens on Tuesday, attended by five heads of state and 27 Cabinet-level officials from 25 African countries, the Foreign Ministry officials said.
The five heads of state on hand will be from Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ghana and Benin, they said.
The forum is the first of its kind to be held under the "Africa Development Initiative" proposed by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun during a visit to Africa in March.
During the forum, South Korea will try to expand areas of mutual cooperation in the political and social sectors as well as economic tie-ups, the officials said.
Energy is one of South Korea's major concerns in relations with African countries.
In 2004, South Kore started exploration of oil reserves in Benin believed to hold about 400 million barrels. In March, it bought large portions of seaborne drilling bases in Nigeria believed to hold approximately 2 billion barrels of oil.
During the forum, South Korea and the African countries plan to adopt a Seoul declaration calling for long-term cooperation projects, the officials said.
Seoul, Nov. 6 (Yonhap News)
1st S. Korea-Africa Forum expected to focus on energy development |
