[Contribution] Why Korea-Africa summit matters

By Lee Seong-woo

Vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry

The 2024 Korea-Africa summit is set to be held this week in Seoul. Korea and Africa have hosted ministerial forums to promote exchanges and cooperation since 2006. The upcoming summit is expected to elevate their ties to the next level.

Africa may have struggled to achieve economic development and social stability but the region has also been highlighted as the “continent of the future” for many reasons.

The first reason is its young population. While many developed countries are reeling from fast aging and low fertility rates, Africa has seen rapid growth in the work-age population. The UN projects that the African population will swell from the current 1.4 billion to around 2.5 billion by 2050. This means the youths of Africa are likely to become a powerful growth engine, exerting influence over the global economy in the near future.

Abundant natural resources also boost Africa’s growth potential. Beneath the continent is a treasure trove of minerals. Of the total supplies globally, 89 percent of platinum, 80 percent of chrome, 61 percent of manganese, 52 percent of cobalt, 10 percent of crude oil and 8 percent of natural gas are reserved there.

In addition, Africa boasts a solid growth rate, with the annual average standing at 4.6 percent between 2000 and 2019. Its large size of 54 countries will have a greater influence in affecting the decision-making of international organizations.

Europe has long been Africa’s major trade partner. Japan has been supporting development projects by hosting the Tokyo International Conference on African Development since 1993. China has also begun to make massive investments and financial aid for large-scale infrastructure projects. In the 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit with 49 countries, the US pledged to invest $55 billion in Africa over the next three years.

Korea is relatively late but is ramping up efforts to expand ties with Africa. Due to the economic gap with major economies, Korea is lagging behind when it comes to the scale of investment and aid. Instead, Korea’s unique success story of rapid economic growth and its transformation from an aid recipient to a donor can resonate with African countries in their earlier stage of growth.

As of 2022, the trade volume between Korea and Africa was around $20.45 billion, accounting for 1.4 percent of Korea’s total trade. This figure is still tiny but reflects the great potential of our future partnerships.

I hope the Korea-Africa summit serves as a transition point for our bilateral ties. Africa is a crucial partner for Korea to enhance the supply chains for key industries, while Korea is ready to support Africa to accelerate its growth drive.

Lee Seong-woo is vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The views expressed in this column are his own. -- Ed.