Korea-Africa Summit: Yoon starts his biggest multilateral summit with economic cooperation as aim

한아프리카 정상회의 개막 '함께 만드는 미래' We begin with the Korea-Africa Summit that has kicked off here in South Korea. The first summit of its kind has been much anticipated so let's go straight to our Kim Do-yeon who's covering at the spot. Do-yeon, what are we expecting right now? Dami, good morning African leaders have been arriving one by one here and things are just getting started. Now we've been reporting this over and over, but this is the biggest multilateral summit that the Yoon Administration has ever hosted here in South Korea with 48 countries participating plus many organizations representing Africa. Arrivals and greetings took one hour and for the media as well the security around this venue is very tight at the moment. Now just a few moments ago the opening ceremony began and the leaders will go into the morning discussion session. Which will be followed by a luncheon, afternoon discussion, a closing ceremony, and a joint press conference. As a reminder this Summit's theme is “The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity.” Yoon is also hoping that the summit will enhance cooperation with African nations that are rich in critical minerals and boost trade ties with them. The first official event-wide engagement was last night at the welcoming dinner banquet. How did that unfold? That's right, President Yoon hosted a dinner for all 48 participating nations at Seoul's Shilla Hotel last night. Taking the podium President Yoon's remarks which kicked the Summit off focused on being good partners. He said three things made South Korea's fast economic growth possible: visionary leaders, courageous businesses, and hard-working citizens and that the nation is ready to share its experience with its African Partners. Take a listen. He also pointed to similarities between the culture of Korea and parts of Africa and gave Kenya's national motto "Harambe" a Swahili word meaning 'all pull together' as an example. Yoon said that is a sentiment deeply rooted in South Korean society as well. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani the President of Mauritania who also serves as the chair of the African Union replied in his remarks that he has high hopes for cooperation, which will also tackle global challenges together. There were performances that mixed cultures and the meal was also a fusion of Korean and African dishes. Now, President Yoon has had a busy few days including yesterday when he greeted the leaders in the country. Tell us more about that. That's right he met with 10 leaders yesterday as is customary, including leaders of Lesotho, Cote d'Ivoire, Rwanda, and Cabo Verde. Yoon told the leaders that he hopes the Summit will contribute to mutual growth by strengthening tailored, mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields such as energy, infrastructure, critical minerals, and agriculture. African leaders spoke of their interest in cooperation with South Korea as it is a tech powerhouse. Now, these greetings will continue over the next couple of days as there are around 30 heads of state to see out of the 48 visiting nations. Dami. That was our Kim Do-yeon reporting from the summit site. #KOREA_AFRICA_SUMMIT #African_Nations #YoonSukyeol #SouthKorea #multilateral_summit #African_leaders #한아프리카_정상회의 #윤석열 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 ? Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/arirangtvnews ? Twitter : https://twitter.com/arirangtvnews ? Homepage : https://arirang.com/ 2024-06-04, 09:00 (KST)