Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: August 27 (EI) – Ethiopia and South Korea have signed multiple cooperation accords that aimed to spur historic cooperation among the two freindly countries.
The two countries signed five cooperation agreements as part of the ongoing Ethiopian Prime Minister’s two-day official visit to South Korea, from August 26 to 27, where Ahmed also on Monday met with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in, according to a statement issued by the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Office.
The signed five MoUs are said to be on mutual waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports, the establishment of a joint ministerial commission, cooperation relating to standardization, certification, conformity assessment and technical regulation, agreement on environmental cooperation, as well as a loan agreement for the establishment of center of excellence for Adama Science and Technology university project, it was noted.
President Moon, during his meeting with Ahmed, also “appreciated the efforts” being made by the Ethiopian government under the leadership of Ahmed, according to the Office.
Ahmed, during his first-day visit to South Korea, also on Monday met with the President of the Export-Import Bank of South Korea Yong Hwan Kim, in which the two sides discussed ongoing and potential new support to the East African country.
The Korea Export-Import Bank currently supports ongoing projects in the East African country with a financial amount that exceed 600 million U.S. dollars. The two countries had also recently signed 300 million U.S. dollar cooperation agreement, it was noted.
Ahmed also on Tuesday met with the President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOIKA) to discuss further strengthening of the support to Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian premier also “expressed appreciation to KOIKA for the development work that they have undertaken in education, water and agriculture,” the Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency also “expressed interest to further develop the cooperation with Ethiopia in various areas.”
Ahmed, as part of his visit to Korea, also attended the Ethiopia-Korea Business Forum organized by the Ethiopian Embassy to South Korea with the objective of “promoting investments in shared various activities being undertaken by his administration to create a conducive business environment for investments to thrive.”
Noting the historic relations between the two countries, Ahmed also urged South Korean businesses to join Ethiopia’s journey to prosperity.
During his stay in South Korea, Ahmed also met with heads of multinational conglomerate company in the Asian country, including Samsung Group as well as the car maker Hyundai.
During his bilateral discussions with the Executive Vice President of Samsung, Won-Kyong Kim, Ahmed also invited the multinational conglomerate to invest in Ethiopia and create a positive impact in the country and the region.
“Kim shared he has respect for the economic reform policies currently underway and expressed interest in exploring the capacity for investing,” the Ethiopian PM’s Office said.
Ahmed, during his meeting with representatives of South Korea’s car maker Hyundai, also discussed the potential expansion of investments in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopia and South Korea relations dated back to the 1950s, when Ethiopia’s last Imperial Majesty Haileselassie I sent battalions of the East African country’s Imperial Body Guard to join the UN forces during the Korean War.
