Korea-Africa Summit: Korea and African Development Bank Group Discuss Expansion of Agricultural Cooperation 

Sejong, 5 June 2024 — On 4 June 2024 in Seoul, Minister Song Miryung of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea met with President Akinwumi A. Adesina of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). At the meeting, Minister Song shared the achievements of the official development assistance (ODA) projects, such as the K-Ricebelt project, that South Korea had carried out for Africa, and asked for the interest and cooperation from the president of the AfDB so that solidarity between South Korea and Africa can continue to be strengthened further through bilateral cooperation.

The African Development Bank Group is the most influential international financial institution in the African region, and President Akinwumi A. Adesina is known as the president of Africa’s economy. President Adesina expressed his appreciation to the support and cooperation that South Korea had provided so far in the field of agriculture and asked for South Korea’s continued support and cooperation. President Adesina expressed his expectations that agricultural cooperation with South Korea will provide substantive help to Africa’s development, saying that the nation has a rich experience in food production expansion and a rapid economic development, and the top priority required for Africa’s development is to strengthen agricultural productivity and competitiveness.

Minister Song Miryung said: “I hope that South Korea’s K-Ricebelt project, food aid, and technology cooperation will spread more widely across Africa through the African Development Bank Group, and thus contribute to addressing Africa’s food security issue. And I also hope that bilateral agricultural cooperation will be extended to solidarity for overall areas of economic cooperation such as digital transformation of agriculture, rural development, nurturing young farmers, securing a supply chain of core minerals, etc.”