During a significant conference that President Yoon Suk Yeol is hosting for dozens of heads of state from Africa on Tuesday, South Korea will seek to secure vital resource imports and strengthen trade relations with the continent.
The world views Africa’s plentiful mineral resources as significant for industries ranging from the defense to the production of electric vehicles.
Renowned memory chip manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are based in South Korea, which is among the global leaders in the production of advanced semiconductors.
According to Yoon, the East Asian nation “is a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse, but it relies heavily on imports for over 95 percent of its raw mineral needs,” the president’s office wrote in written comments that were given to AFP.
From cobalt to platinum, countries across Africa have deep reserves of the critical minerals needed to power the semiconductor industry — and South Korea is hoping to boost cooperation with the resource-rich continent to secure access, Yoon said.
Seoul hopes to sign a slew of agreements with countries attending the summit and “lay the foundation for comprehensive cooperation, including the exchange of information related to critical minerals, technological collaboration and joint exploration,” Yoon said.
Forty-eight African countries will attend, Seoul has said. The main summit is set for Tuesday, followed by a business summit involving South Korean and African industry leaders on Wednesday.
“Despite Africa’s importance, trade with the continent accounts for only 1.9 percent of Korea’s total trade,” Yoon said, pointing to the continent’s huge consumer market and population.
Much of South Korea’s current trade with Africa is imports of raw materials, such as coal from South Africa, as well as metals including iron ore and stainless steel. Exports include high-value items such as cars and electronics.
Seoul is looking to “actively support business-to-business exchanges,” to boost overall trade, Yoon added.
