The Advisory Committee on Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) began its work Monday in Seoul, South Korea, as a prelude to the fourth Ministerial Conference to be attended by about 40 African ministers, most of them in charge of Finance and Economy, PANA reports from here.
The Advisory Committee is expected to adopt a new KOAFEC Action Plan for 2012-2013.
Composed of representatives of the three institutions – the African Development Bank (AfDB), the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Korean Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) – the three organizations which jointly launched the KOAFEC initiative in 2006, the advisory committee is entrusted with designing and implementing KOAFEC action plans.
Its last annual meeting was held in December 2011 in Tunis, where participants discussed the progress made by the 2011-2012 action plan.
It will adopt the 2012–2013 action plan while putting emphasis on the management procedures of the KOAFEC Guarantee Fund.
The fourth Ministerial Conference which has called for “inclusive growth” and “green growth” — the main themes of the next cooperation between Africa and South Korea — is at the stage of “drawing lessons from South Korean experience in terms of development”.
Indeed, from a gross national product per capita of US$ 79 in the 60s and a poverty level similar to that of the African continent, South Korea successfully established its GNP around US$ 20,000 in recent years.
In 1980, Korea made its entry into the African Development Fund (ADF), before joining in 1982 the African Development Bank (AfDB) and committed alongside the African countries by significantly contributing to increasing the Fund capital.
“Over the past six years, KOAFEC members has contributed to significant progress on the African continent in the areas of human resources and knowledge, and shared the Korean experience of economic development and Information Technology , ” organizers said.
They further announced the participation in the Ministerial Conference of a wide range of delegates including, in addition to government officials, businessmen, academics and the media,.
