S Korea doubles aid to Africa

SEOUL – South Korea pledged yesterday to double aid to African nations over the next three years in an effort to better reach out to the continent rich in energy resources, growth potential and business opportunities.

In the pledge made at a joint South Korea-Africa co-operation forum in Seoul, the government said that by 2012 they would double the $107 million in annual official development aid they gave in 2008.Increasing aid to more than $200m a year by 2012 reflects the growing importance South Korea attaches to Africa as an economic partner and a source of energy resources, officials said.Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said South Korea plans to focus on offering its know-how learned from building Asia’s fourth-largest economy from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War.Cabinet ministers and senior officials from 15 African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya, attended the one-day forum as representatives of the 53-member African Union, an intergovernmental organization among African nations.Growth engineSouth Korea’s outreach comes as neighbouring Japan and China have been trying to woo Africa with similar pledges of massive aid. Earlier this month China promised $10 billion in new loans to African nations over the next three years.’Africa is increasingly important for us not only in broadening our diplomatic horizon, but also in securing energy resources,’ a Seoul government official said on condition of anonymity citing department policy.South Korea’s leading Chosun Ilbo newspaper also quoted an unidentified official as saying, ‘Africa is considered the world’s last-remaining growth engine due not only to its energy resources but also to its potential to become a giant market’.Trade between South Korea and African countries amounted to $13.43bn in 2008, with Seoul’s exports rising 13,7 per cent to $9,38 billion from the year earlier. In the first four months of 2009, exports to Africa rose 25 per cent to $2.39 billion over the first four months of 2008, according to Yonhap news agency. – Nampa-AP