Addis Ababa(WNAM Monitoring): The bilateral relationship between Ethiopia and South Korea needs to be enhanced in line with the opportunity in economic and investment fields, South Korea Ambassador Jung Kang said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, the ambassador said his country has very special relationship with Ethiopia, whose soldiers fought bravely in the Korean war.
The sacrifice paid by the Ethiopian infantry battalion during the war has immensely contributed to strengthen bilateral relations, he added.
“So basically, all Koreans remember that, and all Koreans try to repay what we have received by Ethiopians.”
Political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties have been improving over the years, Ambassador Kang stated, adding that the bilateral relations have thrived since the start of diplomatic relations in 1963.
With respect to economic relations, he pointed out that the current trade volume is small, but increasing every year.
“I think this is not enough and we can do more. Specifically, we can do more in economy not just development aid and cooperation. We can diversify economic relations by enhancing the trade volume and also inducing more investment to Ethiopia,” the ambassador elaborated.
South Korea imports agricultural products such as coffee while exporting medical products to Ethiopia. Ambassador Kang suggested that both countries discuss to resolve any hurdles and improve the trade volume.
Furthermore, he said South Korea can expand its import items since Ethiopia has various quality agricultural products.
Speaking of technology transformation and the existing cooperation, the ambassador stated that Ethiopia and South Korea are already cooperating in enhancing digitization and setting up laboratories in Addis Ababa Science and Technology and Adama Science and Technology universities as well as carrying out research that lead to industry cooperation.
According to Ambassador Kang, Ethiopia “has many young, smart and educated population, and I think in the near future Korean companies, high-tech companies can also invest here. They can set up some factory and operate in stable bases here. I hope I can contribute to the trend during my tenure.”
