The Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Of Ethiopia Gebremeskel Chala today received South Korean Ambassador to Ethiopia Kang Seokhee in his office and discussed trade ties between the two nations.
The discussion focused on the conditions that will enable the two countries to strengthen the trade ties and engage in investment in the future, according to the information from the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration of Ethiopia.
It was stated in the discussion that Ethiopia and South Korea have a long-term relationship and the trade relationship between the two countries is growing, but it has not reached the desired level. Ambassador Kang Seokhee expressed the importance of signing a bilateral investment agreement so that South Korean investors can come and invest in Ethiopia and benefit from the wide market.
On his part, the Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Gebremeskel Chala mentioned the long-term trade relations between our country and South Korea and added that there is a desire to work more with South Korea.
The minister explained that by building the capacity of the private sub-economy and government professionals to help strengthen trade ties: by facilitating technology transfer, by sharing experiences and experiences: that capacity building support should be provided to improve the free market system and negotiation capacity.
Reporsts show that automibiles such as, Hyundai and electronics like LG, Samsung, are among the major products Ethiopia has been importing from South Korea. While Ethiopia exports coffee and other agricultural products to South Korea.
Finally, the ambassador of South Korea, who revealed that his country is in the competition to host the World Expo in 2030, said that it needs Ethiopia’s support to win the competition. The diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and South Kores goes back to the 1950s.
During the North and South Korea war, Ethiopia has contributed thousands of soldiers supporting the later. In addition to Ethiopia, the countries provided military assistance to South Korea at the time include; Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Eventhough South Korea after recovered from the Korean War and today become one of the fastest growing country with over $30,000 per capita, and lender, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world depending on foreign food while pooly emulating South Korea’s development model.