President Lee: "Africa Is a Continent with Great Potential... Korea Is Paying Special Attention"

President Lee Jae-myung met with the African foreign ministerial delegation on June 2 and stated, "The current Korean government is paying special attention to many African countries."

On this day at the main building of the Blue House, President Lee addressed 19 minister-level chief representatives from African countries and representatives from three regional international organizations, including the African Union (AU), and expressed these views. He said, "Africa is a continent with tremendous growth potential and possibilities for development," adding, "From the perspective of the Korean government, it is regrettable that we have not focused more on this point so far."

President Lee Jae-myung is giving a greeting to minister-level officials from African countries and international organizations who visited Korea to attend the Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Blue House on June 2, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee continued, "Unfortunately, I heard that this is the first time that ministers from African countries have been officially invited to Korea," and added, "I expect there will be many more opportunities to meet you officially in the future." He further proposed, "In 2029, there will be a Korea-Africa summit, and I hope that the Korea-Africa summit will become a regular event thereafter."

President Lee also explained, "Korea is a country that was liberated from colonial rule after World War II, and we have come this far through a difficult path." He added, "It seems that Korea has walked a similar path to your countries, perhaps just a bit earlier. I hope we can share our experiences and have in-depth discussions about how Korea can work together with your countries and what kind of support we can provide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.