FROM LEFT: Young Kul Koh, Yuri Park, Director Regional Public Diplomacy and Changho Sohn during the interaction
South Korea has disclosed that Ghana is a top priority among its partners, adding that it has a robust relationship with the West African country.
During a media interaction with some officials of the South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in Seoul, Ghana was ranked high among its development partners, particularly in Africa.
Under its Official Development Assistance (ODA), the South East Asian country currently provides support to 24 countries of which 11 are in Africa.
Officials say Ghana is a top priority among the 11 countries and it will continue to enjoy support.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry officials ruled out any desire to scramble for Ghana’s resources in exchange for support.
“We are not in a business to scramble for the resources of our development partners in exchange for support,” the officials said.
According the officials, South Korea’s support for its partners under the Official Development Assistance is purely on bilateral arrangements.
Young Kul Koh, Director, Development Policy Division, Development Cooperation Bureau of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a group of visiting journalists in Seoul, the country’s capital that “South Korea is not focusing on natural resources diplomacy. We are not there to take the resources of our partners.”
The 18 journalists are in Korea at the invitation of Korea Foundation under its Distinguished Guests In Media programme.
Young hinted of a possible reduction in support to its partners outside Asia from 2020.
He said over 40 percent of the aid would go to neighbouring countries to deepen ties with them.
The Asian country’s current leader, President Moon Jae-In, is in support of strengthening relations with its neighbours in an agenda to push for a regional block of South East Asian countries.
Indeed, the agenda for economic and perhaps political integration featured prominently at the ongoing 2019 Jeju Forum being held in South Korea’s autonomous Province of Jeju Island yesterday.
About 5,500 people, including leaders from Japan, Australia and Austria, are attending the annual event.
Ghana is preparing to draw down a $100 million Korea EXIM bank facility for the establishment of University of Environment and Sustainable Development in Bunso, Eastern Region.
Apart from that, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is executing a number of projects across the country.
Young explained that South Korea’s policy now is anchored on winning the hearts and minds of its partners as espoused by the two-year old administration of President Moon Jae-In.
The country is also pursuing peaceful co-existence with its North Korea neighbour with the hope of unifying the two Koreans.
Unification is an agenda but not being pursued aggressive by the current administration which believes that peace and denuclearization are first, according to Changho Sohn, Director for Policy Analysis at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.
Changho said the Moon administration is a human-centered, transparent and inclusive.
He called for the removal of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.
From Fortune Alimi, Seoul