1. Mr. Yun Kang-hyeon, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the opening ceremony of the 2019 Africa Industrialization Week (AIW), held in Addis Ababa, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, on the morning of November 20.

○ Amid growing expectation for economic integration and future growth in Africa following the entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in May this year, the 2^nd AIW following last year will take place for five days on November 18-22, under the theme of “Positioning African Industry to Supply the AfCFTA Market.”

○ On the occasion of this AIW, the Korea-Africa Foundation (President Choi Yeon-ho) will hold the Africa-Korea Startup/SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) Fair on November 19-21, and the 2019 Africa-Korea Business Forum on November 22, at the headquarters of the African Union (AU). Both of the events are sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the AU.

2. In his congratulatory remarks at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister Yun highly commended Africa’s economic integration and its development potential as seen from the launch of the AfCFTA and the establishment of a single African market, and underscored the importance of trade and industrialization toward achieving such potential.

○ Going forward, Deputy Minister Yun introduced that the ROK enterprises are actively contributing to building infrastructure for fostering industrialization in Africa as seen from the recent Kazungula bridge construction project, and stressed that the ROK, which turned from an aid recipient to a donor and thereby attained economic development and democracy, is the best partner for achieving industrialization in Africa.

○ The opening ceremony brought together President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia, Commissioner for Trade and Commerce Albert Muchanga of the AU and officials including Executive Director Arancha Gonzalez of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and Representative and Director of the Regional Hub in Ethiopia Aurelia Patrizia Calabro of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in their capacities as speakers. Deputy Minister Yun was invited as a special guest at the opening ceremony in his capacity as a Korean government official. 

3. On the afternoon of November 20, Deputy Minister Yun also visited the Africa-Korea Startup/SMEs Fair, and encouraged the participants with interest in Africa who are contributing to promoting economic cooperation between the ROK and Africa.

○ The Fair was attended by ten SMEs as well as ten startups selected through a 2019 business idea competition of Africa, through which the participants are expected to identify new areas of potential for cooperation and seek diverse ways for business partnership with African countries.

4. Deputy Minister Yun will attend the 2019 Africa-Korea Business Forum, under the theme “ROK-Africa partnership for accelerating industrialization in Africa,” on Friday, November 22, in his capacity as a keynote speaker.

○ The Forum will feature three sessions including presentations and discussions: implications of the AfCFTA on the Africa-Korea business partnership; cooperation measures in advancing “Made in Africa” and industrial dynamism; and entrepreneurship as a new driving force connecting Africa and Korea.

○ The upcoming Forum is expected to provide an opportunity for the ROK and Africa to share views on successful industrialization and economic diversification, as well as to discuss ways to establish reciprocally cooperative relations.