The 2026 Korea-Africa Business Forum was held Tuesday at Lotte Hotel Seoul in central Seoul, bringing together about 300 government officials, diplomats and business leaders from South Korea and African countries.
The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, jointly by the Korea-Africa Foundation, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and Yonhap News Agency.
In his opening remarks, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun underscored the growing strategic importance of Africa amid global energy and supply chain challenges, emphasizing the need for “mutual prosperity and shared growth” between Korea and Africa.
“The Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held yesterday provided a valuable opportunity to review the achievements made since the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit and discuss a future vision for cooperation,” Cho said.
The forum featured keynote speeches by Sung Kim, President for Strategic Planning at Hyundai Motor Company, and Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The first session, titled “Driving Synergies through Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation: From K-Content to New Markets,” explored opportunities to deepen economic ties and expand business collaboration between Korea and African countries.
The session was moderated by Caitlin Nash, CEO of Golden Thread Markets in South Africa.
Speakers included Kim Myung-hee, Executive Vice President of KOTRA; Jung Tawon, Head of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region at Daewoo Engineering & Construction; Caleb Maru, CEO of Tech Safari in Kenya; and Nana Aba Anamoah, a Ghanaian media personality and founder of Women of Valour.
The participants discussed ways to leverage Korea’s cultural influence, technological capabilities and industrial expertise to create new opportunities in African markets, while exploring avenues for broader economic cooperation and sustainable growth.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
