Renewal of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) Basic Agreement
President Yoon Suk-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia before a small-group meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul on the 2nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]
President Yoon Suk-yeol held a dinner meeting on the 2nd at the Yongsan Presidential Office with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, who is visiting Korea to attend the Korea-Africa Summit, and requested the Ethiopian government's attention and support so that Korean companies can enter Ethiopia and contribute to mutually beneficial economic development.
President Yoon first welcomed Prime Minister Abiy's return to Korea after five years to attend the Korea-Africa Summit. He then expressed gratitude for Ethiopia's dispatch of troops to the Korean War before diplomatic relations were even established, coming to protect the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea.
Prime Minister Abiy highly praised Korea for holding the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit to strengthen cooperation with Africa and said, "Let us work together to further expand the cooperative relationship between our two countries through this opportunity."
In particular, the two leaders expected that the 'Trade Promotion Framework' signed last October, following the development of development cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963, would further expand trade between the two countries.
Prime Minister Abiy expressed gratitude for Korea's contributions not only to infrastructure expansion in Ethiopia, such as power grid construction, road building, and river maintenance, but also to the nurturing of talent in education and science, contributing to Ethiopia's economic and social development. He also said he hopes that cooperation between the two countries will expand to various fields, including mineral development and the defense industry.
President Yoon said, "Through the renewed Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) basic agreement between the two countries (supporting about 1 billion USD from 2024 to 2028), I hope that customized development projects contributing to Ethiopia's development will be newly discovered."
Meanwhile, the two leaders agreed to closely cooperate on the international stage, including Korea's term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2024 to 2025. In particular, they shared the view that strict implementation of sanctions against North Korea is necessary to block North Korea's nuclear and missile development, which violates UN Security Council resolutions.
Prime Minister Abiy said, "I have attended several summits with Africa hosted by major powers, but I feel that Korea's Africa Summit is the most anticipated and will be successful."
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