Prior to the Africa-Korea summit in 2024, Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the South Korean government assurances on Monday in Abuja that President Bola Tinubu would travel there on a state visit.
According to a statement from the State House Director of Information, Office of the Vice President, Olusola Abiola, “He assured the Korean delegation that President Tinubu will honour the invitation of his Korean counterpart to the Africa-Korea summit in 2024.”
The statement was titled ‘We are committed to promoting trade, technology transfer, global peace with republic of Korea, says VP Shettima.’
He stated this when he received a delegation from the Republic of Korea led by the Special Envoy to the President, Jang Sungmin, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
On May 29, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol invited Tinubu to visit the Asian country as a way to boost relations between the two countries.
This was as the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia to Nigeria pledged their countries’ support for the new administration.
Assuring the delegation of Tinubu’s willingness to honour the invitation of his Korean, he added, “rest assured that Nigeria truly appreciates the Republic of Korea’s support to Nigeria in multilateral institutions, in the UN General Assembly, in our quest for a seat in the security council and in several UN bodies.”
The VP restated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening relations with the Republic of Korea, especially in promoting trade, technology transfer and maintaining global peace.
According to Shettima, “Nigeria and Korea have a very robust bilateral relationship that is anchored on years of mutual trust and cooperation. A lot of Korean companies are doing business in Nigeria, especially in the area of oil and gas. Six of our LNG trains were constructed by Korean companies.”
Therefore, he said Nigeria is “fully committed to a very robust relationship between our nations.”
“We need to learn a lot from Korea, especially in the areas of manufacturing and agriculture.
“You are a success story worthy of emulation by all developing nations,” he added.
Speaking further, Shettima stressed that the government aims to create 1 million jobs for its youths and is willing to partner with South Korea in the area of technology.
He premised this on the fact that by 2030, there will be 65 per cent global talent deficit with the US, Russia and Brazil suffering a 6 million talent deficit.
“I believe Nigeria is in a unique position to fill in those talent deficits because ours is a young nation.
“75 per cent of Nigerians are below the age of 35, so we are soliciting your partnership and support in digital skills training for our young people.
“We want to create 1 million jobs in the digital world. India earned $120bn last year from global outsourcing and we are in a unique position to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector,” he explained.
The Vice President then assured the Korean Government of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to partner with Korea to strengthen relations between both countries, especially in balancing the trade deficit between the two countries.
He noted that “security and economic development” are the main agenda of the new administration, adding that the government will make it easier for Korean businesses and other foreign investors to do business in Nigeria.
“Korea has always supported us in the international fora and we have that obligation to reciprocate by supporting Korean businesses operating in Nigeria,” Shettima assured.
Earlier in his remarks, the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Korea (H.E. Yoon Suk Yeol), Mr. Jang Sungmin, who congratulated Nigeria for the successful inauguration of the new government, conveyed a special invitation from President Yoon to his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, to attend the forthcoming Africa-Korea Summit in South Korea.
The delegation of the Special Envoy included the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, KIM Young-chae; Deputy Secretary to the President for Future Policy, Mr. YOO Chang-ho; Deputy Director for Planning and Execution Team, Bid Committee for World EXPO 2030 BUSAN, Mr. JANG Sangwoo; Vice President, SK, Mr. Guillaume Barthe-Dejean; Chief Financial Officer, LG Electronics Nigeria Corp, Mr. KIM Inkyu and Ms. Park Hyesong from the Korea International Development Agency.
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