The Republic of Korea has called for the deepening of economic ties between Nigeria and Korea. The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chae, made the call during an official visit to the Office of the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, on Thursday, IgbereTV reports.
The South Korean envoy said the purpose of the meeting with Sen Kalu is to update the senator on the efforts of South Korea to improve the economic lots of both countries.
The Korean envoy who paid Kalu the visit shortly after the Presentation of the 2022 budget by President Buhari revealed further that his country recently signed an agreement with the Ministry of Digital Economy and the Ministry of Education and Universal Basic Education (UBEC) to commit 10 million US dollars for the construction of smart schools in the geopolitical zones of the country.
In the areas of economic ties, Kim stressed that South Korea is committed to strengthen and improve trade and investments between both countries. He listed agriculture, trade and investment as areas of concern to the Korean Government.
‘Our mission is to visit you and highlight our country’s commitment to improving our trade and investment between both countries. We are here to discuss how we can further enhance our investment and our trade, that is why I came here with my economic officer. So today’s discussion majors only economy, trade, investment, agriculture and so on.
‘We had a signing ceremony with the Ministry of Digital Economy and the signing ceremony was for e-government projects and later this month we had another signing ceremony of the ministry of education and Universal Basic Education (UBEC) to commit around 10 million dollars for smart school projects in six states in each geopolitical zone.’
He revealed further that the Korean Government through its embassy recently signed an MOU with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines (NACCIMA) to establish important communication channels.
‘We also checked that there are other bilateral chambers of commerce under NACCIMA and the counties include; South Africa, United Kingdom and so on. So our aim is to build on the existing relationships,’ the ambassador stated.
Sen Kalu, in his remarks, expressed that the cooperation between the two countries has attained another level. Kalu said that both President Buhari and the Korean President, Moon Jae-in, have also intensified talks to ensure that they achieve the economic growth of both countries.
‘I am pleased with your visit to the National Assembly today, the two countries are making progress and we will also further with regards business to business.
‘It’s very important because the South Korea investment is growing and Nigerian exports to South Korea is also increasing and we need to do more to meet up with the demands of both countries,’ the senator said.
