Forty-eight African countries will attend the inaugural South Korea-Africa summit next week, with President Yoon Suk Yeol set to hold summits with the leaders of 25 of them, the presidential office said Thursday.
The two-day summit will open Tuesday and bring together delegations from 48 of the 55 countries in Africa, according to Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo.
“Due to coup d’etats and other domestic political reasons, there are 48 countries that we can invite,” Kim told a press briefing at the presidential office. “All of the countries we invited accepted the invitation.”
Twenty-five nations will be represented by their heads of state, and Yoon will hold summits with each of them. The meetings will be held over a luncheon or a dinner in the case of the leaders of Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Mauritania, as they will be paying official visits to South Korea.
“This conference will be the largest multilateral summit since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol government and the fi
rst multilateral summit South Korea will be hosting involving Africa,” Kim said.
“For South Korea, which aims to become a global pivotal state, cooperation with Africa is not a choice but a necessity,” he added.
The main event will be held on the first day of the summit, followed by a business summit on the second day.
Source: Yonhap News Agency