아킨우미 아데시나 AfDB 총재 “팬데믹도 못 멈춘 한-아프리카 경제협력 농업∙에너지전환 협력 강화 기대”
South Korea and Africa were able to reaffirm their economic partnership during the four-day KOAFEC Ministerial Conference in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan, and are now working to further develop cooperation ahead of a summit next year.
Our business correspondent Shin Ha-young spoke with the president of the African Development Bank.
The passion and commitment for economic ties between South Korea and Africa couldn’t be halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s what President Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank said during an interview at the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference, a biennial event held for the first time in five years due to the pandemic.
“The Korean government has subsequently supported us in the replenishment of the African Development Fund which is a concessional financing window of the bank. And the Korean government provided us 108 million dollars and that is the highest they’ve ever given since they joined the fund in 1980.”
“Feed Africa” being a part of the bank’s agenda, known as the High 5s, President Adesina has been emphasizing Africa’s food self-sufficiency.
Africa has 65 percent of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land, that will have the potential to feed up to nine billion people worldwide by 2050, meaning what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food around the globe.
South Korea is supporting this by sharing its rice production technology with its counterparts in Africa.
“I’m very excited about the Korean rice belt initiative in which the Korean government is providing high end in varieties, agronomic practices and other types of technical support to eight African countries to be able to produce rice. Africa imports about 6 billion dollars of rice every year. So if we’re able to produce a lot of rice, we can conserve foreign exchange and also make sure that we create a lot of jobs in rural areas.”
The bank has also been putting efforts behind green growth for Africa.
Along with adaptation to climate change and renewable energy generation, metals used in electric mobility have become crucial to go green as Africa has vast amounts of the minerals and ores that are needed for batteries.
“I want to see companies from Korea investing in Africa in lithium-ion battery manufacturing in Africa, but also making electric vehicles in Africa. And in fact, I can tell you one thing that’s quite exciting is that to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in Africa is three times cheaper than manufacturing it in China or in the United States. So if there’s a place to be that’s it.”
Areas including energy transition and agriculture are expected to see further development at the next South Korea-Africa summit.
“Korea Africa Energy Investment Framework, which is actually a co-financing facility that is providing 600 million dollars of co-financing with the African development bank will go a long way in helping us towards that. So I’m hoping that for the Korea Africa summit next year we’ll be able to show to the heads of states how we are scaling up together renewable energy in Africa.”
To mobilize more resources for Africa’s development, he is also hoping to work with South Korea regarding the reallocation of the Special Drawing Rights to Africa that the IMF implemented worldwide in 2021.
Shin Ha-young, Arirang News, Busan.
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2023-09-15, 21:00 (KST)
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