The President and First Lady flew back to Seoul on July 11, wrapping up state visits to the Republic of South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia. The tour marks the first state visits to Africa by a Korean president, opening up a new era in Korean diplomacy.

During the three country whistle-stop tour from July 2 to 10, the President held summit talks with national leaders, forging stronger ties through development assistance and fostering comprehensive partnerships in a number of sectors, including energy resources, infrastructure, and agriculture. The highlight, however, was the July 6 announcement that the city of Pyeongchang will host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Durban, South Africa.

On July 5, the President held a summit with South African President Jacob Zuma to discuss ways to further reinforce bilateral cooperation in both economic and international affairs with the sole African G20 member nation. The two leaders sought closer collaboration on the implementation of the G20 Seoul Summit Consensus and the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul next March.

Another major outcome in South Africa was the announcement of Pyeongchang’s successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Games. The President reaffirmed the Korean government’s support and commitment to the Pyeongchang Games, spending more than half of his ten-day journey in Durban. After two successive unsuccessful bids, Pyeongchang received overwhelming support in first round of voting.

Following the visit to South Africa, the President visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, holding summit talks with DR Congo President Joseph Kabila and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, establishing reinforced bilateral cooperation in resources and development assistance.

In Kinshasa, Presidents Lee and Kabila joined hands postwar reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The President pledged to share Korean economic development knowledge with his Congolese counterpart, who expressed interest in modeling his country’s future on Korean postwar development and democratization. The two Presidents issued a joint communiqué on strengthening bilateral partnership in several areas, including DR Congo’s national development plan, resources development and agricultural technology improvement, combining abundant local resources and Korean technology.

On July 8, the President gave a keynote address at the Korea-DR Congo Business Forum, emphasizing the importance of building social infrastructure and development of not only natural but human resources

In Ethiopia, the President met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and called for expanded cooperation in the agriculture and green growth sectors, in line with the successful implementation of Ethiopia’s five-year “Growth and Transformation Plan,” which includes Korean development insights. The two leaders agreed to deepen their already strong partnership through agreements on science technology cooperation and development assistance.

During an acceptance speech after receiving an honorary doctorate in environmental studies from Addis Ababa University on July 9, the President said that Korea has declared 2011 to be the year of advancements in Korea-Africa ties, vowing substantial economic aid and development knowledge based on Korea’s postwar experience.

At the Korea-Ethiopia Development Experience Sharing Workshop on July 10, the President said that the best gift that Korea can give developing nations is its accumulated development experience, which he hoped would contribute to the successful implementation of Ethiopia’s five-year development plan. 

On July 9 and 10, the President devoted time to visiting local hospitals and rural communities in Ethiopia as a volunteer. Previously, he also visited Ethiopian''s Korean War Veterans Memorial Park and offered flowers to express Korea’s gratitude for Ethiopia’s help during the war.

By Hwang Dana
Korea.net Staff Writer