1. The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Korea, together with the African Union (AU) and the Foreign Ministry of Ethiopia, will host the fourth Korea-Africa forum at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on December 6 and 7.

° The forum will carry great significance in that it will mark the first of its kind to take place in Africa, particularly at the AU headquarters, in ten years since its inaugural round was held in Seoul in 2006 and that it will help broaden the scope of the ROK’s diplomacy toward Africa.

2. The forum will bring together some 150 people, including Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma of the AU Commission and minister- and vice-minister-level delegates from 14 countries, such as Foreign Minister Mahamat of Chad, the chair country of the AU, and Foreign Minister Workneh of Ethiopia, the host of the fourth forum, as well as foreign diplomats to Ethiopia.

3. Scheduled for December 6, the first day of the forum, are a senior officials’ meeting and a dinner to be hosted by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. On December 7, experts from the ROK and Africa will discuss in depth ways to better ensure peace and stability in Africa and for the two sides to work together for economic development.

° In opening remarks on December 7, Minister Yun will take note of the growing ROK-Africa cooperation since President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Africa in May 2016; underscore the need for the two sides to work together to achieve the Agenda 2063, a vision for Africa; and propose as a way for the development of the forum that it be upgraded to a summit-level event bringing together the entire group of the AU member states.

° At the forum, the ROK Foreign Ministry will hand over one million US dollars in contribution for the year 2016 to the ROK-Africa cooperation fund and formally sign an ROK-AU memorandum of understanding for the provision of level-2 medical facilities worth some two million US dollars to Mali through the AU peace fund.

4. At the forum, an “Addis Ababa declaration” will be adopted, calling for making tangible progress in the vision for the ROK-Africa cooperation on peace, security, economy, social affairs and the development of human resources and for seeking out mutually-beneficial cooperation projects.

5. At the forum, Minister Yun will bring renewed attention to the fact that peace and security of one individual country is an issue of concern to not only that particular country and its surrounding region, but also to the entire international community; reaffirm the ROK’s commitment to play a role for peace and security in Africa; and sincerely ask African countries to cooperate on efforts to address the North Korean nuclear and missile issues, a real threat to peace and security of not only the Korean Peninsula but also the international community.

6. On the sidelines of the forum, Minister Yun will meet bilaterally with ministers from African countries to discuss ways to advance bilateral relations and work together on the international stage as well as situations in diverse regions of the world.

7. In conjunction with the forum, various events will take place at the AU headquarters, including an exhibition on development cooperation projects conducted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), an academic forum on fabric industry to be hosted by the Korea-Africa Center, and cultural events to be hosted by the Foreign Ministry.

8. The Foreign Ministry will seek to make a success of the first Korea-Africa forum in Africa, building cooperative ties with Africa for mutual benefits and co-prosperity and broadening the horizon of its diplomacy toward the continent.


* unofficial translation