BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Today’s’ guest of The Ethiopian Herald is H.E. Kang Seokhee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea. In the brief stay we had, Mr. Kang raised a number of points with regard to the bilateral relations between the two countries, which date back more than 60 years. Have a nice read!
How do you see the overall progress of diplomatic relations between the two countries?
Korea and Ethiopia are best friends, having helped each other for the last 70 years. Our relationship began during the Korean War, when Ethiopia sent more than 6,000 troops to Korea to defend peace and freedom on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with UN-aligned policies.
Previously, the two countries didn’t have diplomatic relations. Emperor Haile Selassie believed in providing assistance to an invaded country as he had a firm stance for any country not to be infringed whatever the means may be. He thought that Ethiopia should help Korea take what the latter did in the late 1930s. By then, no one was willing to hear the voice of the king, even if he took the case of Italy’s invasion to the League of Nations. So our relationship began 70 years ago during the Korean War, and ten years later, in 1963, we established diplomatic relations with Ethiopia.
Since then, Korea has succeeded and become one of the top 10 global powers in terms of economy, and we have begun to help Ethiopia and other countries. We believe that we must help Ethiopia because Ethiopia helped us during our crisis. Korea now has the largest development cooperation project in Ethiopia among African countries. We annually provide $100 million to Ethiopia. With these two assets—long-standing friendship and development cooperation—the two countries have become best friends in the last 70 years. We are now celebrating the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries.
What are the main diplomatic achievements over the last sixty years?
The major achievements are mainly friendship and the development partnership between the two countries. In terms of development partnerships, we are now engaged in 100 million dollars of development projects in Ethiopia annually, which is the largest in Africa. Moreover, not only the Korean government but also the Korean people are engaged in development projects in Ethiopia. For example, Myung Sung Christian Medical Center is sponsored by a Korean church and Korean doctors, not the Korean government. Also, there are Korean private companies that help Korean War veterans from Ethiopia because they remember how Ethiopia helped Korea during the Korean War.
Currently, there are four direct flights between Addis Ababa and Incheon, Korea. There are no other direct flights connecting Korea and Africa, so Addis Ababa Airport has become a hub connecting Korea and Africa. With regard to business partnerships, there are about 20 Korean companies in Ethiopia, and part of my job is to encourage the growth of businesses between the two countries. I am working together with the Ethiopian government in that regard, but this requires time and effort. In order to ensure sustainable development and sustainable partnerships, we need private sector cooperation, and the two countries must work closely together.
Ethiopia is working strenuously to develop its manufacturing sector. One of the ways to develop the sector is through foreign direct investment. How are Korean companies participating in Ethiopia’s growing industrial sector?
As I said, there are about 20 Korean companies in Ethiopia. So far, Korea has invested more than $60 million in business partnerships, which is not so much when considering the size of the Korean economy. To facilitate Korean company’s investments in Ethiopia, we need to create an enabling environment for Korean businesses to do business here. For example, a bilateral investment treaty that allows Korean companies to do business in Ethiopia in a more favorable manner needs to be in place. We are discussing with the Ethiopian government such a legal framework and institutional measures that can encourage investments, because, very often, investing companies face various challenges in relation to tax, customs, and bureaucratic measures that discourage investments.
The Korean companies are here not just for their own benefit but also to contribute to Ethiopia’s economy. So I hope the Ethiopian government can resolve issues that hinder investments. If a conducive environment can be fostered, big companies like Samsung will be more encouraged to invest in Ethiopia without any government intervention or assistance. Ethiopia and the Korean Embassy must work together to foster an environment that attracts potential investors.
So, now Africa is striving to implement the Africa continental free trade area (AfCFTA). So, what is the contribution or assistance of your government on the matter?
We are closely watching the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement. We know that the agreement was launched tw o years ago and that it’s a good initiative for the African continent. I think there will be a more detailed agreement and measures in the coming years, so it may take time.m Korea is one of the countries that have numerous successful FTA agreements already, and our total trade volume is more than $1 trillion a year. One of the reasons Korea became an economic power was its expansion in trade. Korea does not have natural resources; we have only 50 million people and the determination to work hard for success. The Korean Peninsula is five times smaller than Ethiopia. With such small land and no natural resources, we deeply thought about what we could do to become prosperous.
Several decades ago, a former president of Korea decided to promote international trade as a driving force for economic growth. So trade through FTAs is an important means to build the economy; however, there need to be lots of ideas and technical measures to fully realize the original purpose of FTAs. Korea is ready to share our experience in implementing FTAs. We are engaged with the AfCFTA Secretariat in Ghana for technical and other types of cooperation. We will see how the AfCFTA evolves in the coming years. It will take time because there are more than 50 countries in Africa, and the economic situations are different in each country. Meanwhile, we can think about how Korea and Africa can work together to help African countries increase their trade volume under the AfCFTA. I think there are stages to making use of the AfCFTA agreement, so we may think about different stages of trade promotion between Korea and African countries.
Korea is planning to hold the first Korea-Africa summit in Seoul next year. One of the main topics on the agenda will be business partnerships. The trade volume between Korea and Ethiopia is about $200 million a year. The trade volume between Korea and Africa is just about $20 billion or $30 billion. Korea’s total trade volume is more than $1 trillion. So, there is huge potential for Korea and Africa to increase their trade volumes.Trade is not one-sided and each side must work together. Trade is different from aid development. Aid means one country helps another country; trade means each country has to help each other, and it has a far-reaching impact. Before globalization began, Korea had trade ties with only a small number of countries, such as the USA, China, and Japan, but later on we thought that it was time to globalize our business. So many Korean companies are now reaching out to the global market.
I think your country, Korea, is good at science and technology. What lesson can Ethiopians learn from?
Advancement in science and technology was one of the reasons Korea became a competitive economy in the global market. Another reason was Korea’s focus on education in these areas. Science and technology is very important for improving industries. If you look at the development history of Korea, we have three stages. In the 1960s, when Korea was a very poor country, our income was less than that of many African countries. So, we started with light industries, like garments or labor-driven economies, because we only had labor as our resource. After that, in the 1970s, we began to focus on heavy industry and also on the agricultural revolution.
In order to ensure the success of heavy industry, we needed science and technology. So, we began to invest in education, science, and technology. Now, Korea has become very strong in innovative technology—thinks about the Samsung smart phone and the Hyundai electronic vehicle. Whether its climate change, industrialization, or economic advancement in general, innovation affects our way of life in many ways. Korea was able to develop its economy through its dynamic people, who adopted and embraced fast-paced changes and innovations in technology.
Now there are Korean professors and scientists who teach science in Ethiopia at Adama Science and Technology University and Addis Ababa Science and Technology University. They teach not only students, but also teachers and professors how to train Ethiopians. We have a project to support Adama Science and Technology University in establishing centers of excellence. It is a research center, and we will provide financial and technical assistance to help advance Ethiopia’s innovation.
For Africa, I believe that there are still some ways to go in creating a foundation for the economy. Without a strong technical infrastructure, innovation is diffic ult to achieve. So African countries need to think about what applicable technologies they need to advance their economies. Korea will help Ethiopia identify such areas in science and technology, but we need to work together for this purpose.
In terms of trade, how much do you think the two countries have progressed?
Twenty years ago, the trade volume between Korea and Ethiopia was just 20 million USD. But last year, it was 200 million USD. So, it increased 10 times. In connection with the trade balance, last year’s report surprised us. Korea imported more than it exported to Ethiopia—Korea exported $60 million to Ethiopia and imported $130 million from Ethiopia.
The main reason for such a change was that Korea imported a lot of coffee from Ethiopia. Also, last year, there was a difficult economic situation in Ethiopia, so Ethiopia could not import a lot from Korea. That may be one of the reasons Korea’s exports decreased. But the interesting point is that Korea imported a lot, particularly coffee. Korean businesses are interested in importing coffee and flowers from Ethiopia. But again, trade and investment volume is still very limited. One success story in investment I would like to share is the Korean garment company, which established its business in Bole Lemi Industrial Park in Addis Ababa. The name of the company is Shin-TS. They came here several years ago, and they produce clothing and export it to European countries.
Shin-TS is mainly based in Vietnam, but they thought the average salary for laborers in Vietnam was continuously growing. So they looked for other countries with low labor costs. They began to invest in Ethiopia several years ago, and over the last several years they have had difficulties doing business because of tax, customs, and other administration issues.
However, they have overcome these difficulties and now employ more than 6,000 Ethiopian employees, and they plan to expand further. So, in order to enhance investment and trade, the two governments should create a more favorable environment for businesses. We can encourage more Korean companies to invest in Ethiopia and become successful like Shin-TS if we can create an enabling environment for the businesses.
What is the role of art, culture, and sports in relation to the two countries?
These are very important sectors for furthering friendship between the two countries. There are many Ethiopian young people who like Korean drama and K-pop. People-to-people exchange is a very important part of building relations between two countries; it is called public diplomacy. Diplomats like me can play a role in promoting friendship and partnership, but ordinary people can also contribute to strengthening friendship and partnership. For example, famous K-Pop icons like BTS or Black Pink are already very popular among many Ethiopian young people.
Cultural and people-to-people exchanges contribute to better understanding between the two countries, so we need to encourage them. As this year marks the 60th anniversary of Korea and Ethiopia’s diplomatic relations, we have many cultural events in that regard. The Korean Embassy will organize a K-Pop contest, photo exhibition, and music performance. Also, Korean young students will come to Addis Ababa to meet with Ethiopian students through a visiting program organized by the embassy this fall. So, by doing this, I think Koreans and Ethiopians can better understand each other and further deepen their friendship.
How is the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of medicine, health protection, and the pharmaceutical sector?
Public health is one of the priority areas in implementing our development projects in Ethiopia. So, we are already doing extensive work in terms of helping Ethiopia develop health care issues. The Korean government has many projects to support healthcare issues in Ethiopia, and there is also a Korean hospital, Myung Sung Christian Medical Center (MSCM), which is supported by a church in Korea. MSCM established a big hospital and medical college, and their objective is to educate Ethiopian doctors so that Ethiopians can run the hospital and medical college by themselves when the Koreans leave.
There is already cooperation in terms of hospital and healthcare development. I heard from my colleague in the Korean development agency that there is a way that Korean pharmaceutical companies look at how the two countries work together in terms of a business dimension as well as a development dimension.
If you want to add any more points, could you please take a chance?
Korea and Ethiopia are already good friends. But Korea has an idea to build on this friendship to achieve business and global partnerships. Korea would like to become a global pivotal state, which means that it will make more contributions to the international community. In terms of a global partnership, we have two concrete action plans. One is the Korea-Africa Summit, which Korea plans to host in 2024. We will invite all leaders from African countries to attend the meeting so as to upgrade the partnership between Korea and Africa. In this regard, we believe that Ethiopia can play an active role by supporting the summit.
The second is the World Expo 2030. We are running to host the World Expo in 2030 in Busan, Korea’s second-largest city. Through the Expo, we would like to work together with the international community to address common global challenges such as climate change, the digital divide, and inequality among nations. By hosting the World Expo 2030, Korea would like to contribute to making our world a better place to live. I hope Korea can count on the support of Ethiopia. As one of the best long-standing friendships in Africa, Korea and Ethiopia should work together not only to benefit the two countries but also for the benefit of the global community.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 3 JUNE 2023
