President Park Geun-hye met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Thursday, launching “resources diplomacy” with African countries.
It was her first summit in Korea since her inauguration.
Park’s first meeting as president with a foreign head was with U.S. President Barack Obama early this month but Museveni is the first foreign political leader to visit Korea. He will be followed by Mozambique President Armando Guebuza early next month.
“I think that the economic growth engine of the 21st century is Africa. Uganda is a representative example as amply demonstrated by its recent development,” Park said.
They discussed issues including commerce, investment, cooperation in development and programs for modernizing rural areas. Included as top issues were how to collaborate in energy and raw material segments.
Museveni, who took power in 1986, initially set up a close relationship with North Korea as he visited Pyongyang three times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He recently showed strong interest in working together with South Korea.
Stressing the exponential potential of African countries, Park has asked for domestic industries to pay more interest to them as they have turned a blind eye to them thus far.
Africa is full of unexplored energy sources and raw materials as the continent has some 10 percent of the global petroleum reserves. The proportions are up to 90 percent for white gold, 80 percent for manganese and 75 percent for cobalt.
Six African countries made it to the top 10 list in terms of the world’s fastest-growing economies according to The Economist.
In addition, African states are predicted to rack up an annual growth rate of 6 percent on average over the next 10 years, much faster than advanced states in Europe and North America.
“We regard African countries with rich resources as the very ones to offer the last chances of growth. In particular, Uganda and Mozambique are outstanding as they are model countries with political stability and fast economic growth,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
Museveni will leave the country today and Guebuza will touch down at Incheon airport on June 3. The latter will pay a visit to the Korea Gas Corp’s liquefied petroleum gas factory in Incheon, west of Seoul.