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Tag: Korea

  • Trade relations between Nigeria, Korea increased by 50% in Q3–Envoy

    Trade relations between Nigeria, Korea increased by 50% in Q3–Envoy

    The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Kim Pankyu, has said the trade relations between Nigeria and his country recorded a 50 per cent increase in the third quarter of 2024.

    Pankyu said the rate of import between both countries has increased by 91 per cent with possibilities of more investments opening up to further boost trade relations.

    The ambassador said this during the 2024 Korea National Day reception in Abuja.

    He expressed optimism that the partnership between Nigeria and Korea would not only witness a massive boost but would be one of the most vibrant partnerships in Africa in the near future.

    The ambassador expressed confidence that engagements between Nigerian officials during the Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul would lead to further increase in economic exchanges between Korea and Nigeria.

    He said: “In June this year, my President hosted the first Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul. Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and then Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, visited Seoul for this important event.

    “In Seoul, they had multiple meetings not only with Korean government officials, but also with many Korean businessmen and development experts. I am confident that these engagements will lead to further increase in economic exchanges between Korea and Nigeria.

    “During the Korea-Africa Summit, my President announced that Korea would continue to expand official development assistance up to $10 billion by 2030, as a catalyst for project cooperation with Africa. In addition, he committed to providing $14 billion to Korean companies by 2030 to encourage their activities in Africa.

    “I am happy to share the news that recently, an intra-governmental task force team has been composed to follow up on the economic partnership agreements made on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit. Since Nigeria is a leading economy and the biggest market in Africa, I believe that the partnership between Korea and Nigeria will be one of the most vibrant ones in the years to come.

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    “In fact, we are already witnessing meaningful progress. During the third quarter of this year, the trade between Korea and Nigeria increased by 55 per cent. In particular, I would like to point out the fact that the import from Nigeria to Korea increased by 91 per cent. I believe that this positive development will continue as more and more Koreans are interested in Nigeria and more and more Nigerians are interested in Korea.”

    The Ambassador said he was excited with the level of acceptance of Korean culture, especially its music by Nigerians.

    According to him, there was a huge potential for cooperation between the two countries in the creative economy.

    Pankyu said: “When I first came to Abuja earlier this year, I was pleasantly surprised by Nigerian people’s high interest in Korean culture, such as Korean language, K-drama, K-pop and K-food.

    “I had an opportunity to observe a K-food contest in Abuja and was deeply impressed by the Korean foods made by Nigerian chefs. When I observed the Taekwondo championship in Abuja recently, I had a feeling that in a few years, the number of gold medals that Korean athletes win at the Olympics may decrease due to brilliant Nigerian athletes.

    “My fellow Koreans may be disappointed but as a former Korean ambassador to Nigeria, I will be happy to watch that. I believe these kinds of cultural exchanges between our two countries will strengthen our bonds of friendship and mutual understanding”, he said. 

    On the Republic of Korea’s vision of advancing freedom, peace and prosperity globally, the envoy sought the support of Nigeria, given her expertise in promoting peace and stability.

    He said: “As one of the 10 elected members of the UN Security Council, Korea is stepping up its efforts to address these kinds of challenges in cooperation with global partners. I believe Nigeria, a leader in promoting peace and stability in this region, is an important partner for Korea in this aspect as well, and look forward to closer coordination.”

  • Aruna down Korea’s Sang Su at  Saudi Smash

    Aruna down Korea’s Sang Su at  Saudi Smash

    Quadri Aruna continued his superb display at the  ongoing  WTT Saudi Smash taking place at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah after taking down Lee Sang Su of South Korea 3-2 in the second round of the men’s singles

    The Nigerian, who is ranked 19th  in the world, was at his best from the start of the encounter as he  dominated the first two games to win 11-9, 11-9. But the Korean fought back in the third and fourth games to level up at 9-11, 7-11.

    In the deciding encounter, Aruna raced to the lead with a 4-1 win but the Korean thwarted his lead to 4-4 with both players playing with a lot of caution.

    Even when Aruna was hitting the ball hard for the Korean, it was as if his shots were not too much for his opponent, who took the lead and was on the verge of victory at 10-8.

    A backhand topspin from Aruna became the undoing of the Korean, who lost two points to allow the Nigerian to level up at 10-10.

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    A missed shot from Aruna again handed the Korean 11-10 lead, as only a point was all the Asian star needed to avenge his last meeting loss against Aruna.

    Just like he did in the first round against Indian legend Sharath Achanta, Aruna stood his ground and matched the Korean shot-for-shot, which eventually went his way for the tie to go 10-10.

    Two missed shots were what Aruna needed to silence the supporting Asians at the venue of the match, as the Nigerian laughed last with a 13-11 win to become the second player to reach the second round after Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan caused  the first upset of Day 3 of the $2 million prize money tournament after he took down world’s  number five, Jingkun Liang in a 3-2  win.

    Aruna will face another Korean in Daeseong Cho today the third-round  (round of 16) tie.

  • Korea supports Fed Govt with six model smart schools

    Korea supports Fed Govt with six model smart schools

    The Government of South Korea through its development agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has supported Nigeria with the establishment of six (6) model Smart Schools of the 37 smart schools being established by the Federal Government across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    So far 14 Smart Schools have taken off, with the remaining ones coming up soon.

    Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, made this known in Abuja, when he received the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Pan-Kyu, at the UBEC Digital Resource Centre.

    The envoy was at the UBEC Digital Resource Centre to inspect the facilities put in place by the commission for the training of teachers on smart education.

    Pan-Kyu used the occasion to interact briefly with the experts from Korea who are in Nigeria to train Nigerian teachers and head teachers on running smart schools as well as intensive training on content development.

    Bobboyi commended the government and people of Korea for the support right from beginning to the stage where 14 out of the 37 Smart Schools being established in Nigeria have taken off.

    He said: “We are exceptionally happy to have His Excellency, the Ambassador of Korea to Nigeria, visiting the UBEC Digital Resource Centre not only to see the infrastructure that we have for training of teachers but also witnessing the Korean experts who have recently arrived the country to help in the training of teachers from various parts of Nigeria.

    “We have been to Korea ourselves and we have to express deep appreciation to the Government of Korea for supporting our Smart School project.

    Read Also: AfDB Group, Korea sign $28.6m grant pact to support Africa’s development

    “We went to Korea, see what is going and a lot of teachers, particularly the head teachers also went there to receive training and now a lot of experts are here with us to impart additional knowledge in these teachers on how to run a modern smart school, the kind that we have established here in Nigeria.”

    He added that this was something that would help Nigeria move forward in a very serious manner in the area of smart education.

    Bobboyi noted that there were some challenges including the issue of timely completion of the projects, saying there were still some few projects struggling to be completed “but we hope that majority of the schools would take off by September this year.”

    The UBEC boss further announced that the studio equipment which Korea had promised Nigeria had arrived.

    “So, we are pushing very hard to deploy similar equipment in the rest of the schools to be sure that we are making progress without compromising the quality and standards.

    “They are training all the head teachers from the various schools involving teachers from non-KOICA schools. It is a very engaging exercise,” he said.

    Bobboyi said the issue of power, which is a common challenge in Nigeria, was being worked out because the Smart Schools could not function without power.

    He added that the issue of internet connectivity was also a challenge but all have been factored into the planning for the establishment of the schools.

    The UBEC chief said: “We are exploring all possible ways to minimize the impact of these challenges and to finally overcome those challenges for the success of smart school programme and the success of education in Nigeria.”

    The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Pan-Kyu, expressed satisfaction with the progress being made by UBEC in the implementation of smart education in Nigeria and promised continued support of his country to Nigeria.

  • Korea-Africa summit’ll attract more investments, says Ambassador

    Korea-Africa summit’ll attract more investments, says Ambassador

    The Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Nigeria, KIM Young-Chae, has said the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit would lead to deeper mutual understanding, increased investments and humanitarian assistance to Africa.

    Young-Chae said South Korea would use the summit to strengthen its relations with Nigeria and Africa.

    He said this in his address delivered at the Republic of Korea National Day Reception, 2023 at the weekend in Abuja.

    According to Young-Chae, the world cannot address the varied challenges of climate change, disruption of global supply chain, geo-political conflict, and the herald of the fourth industrial revolution, without Africa’s active participation.

    He explained that currently, humanity was facing daunting challenges, like climate change, disruption of the global supply chain, geopolitical conflicts, and the emerging 4th industrial revolution.

    Read Also: Tinubu confers with South Korean Special Envoy on trade, investment

    He added that all these international challenges could not be effectively resolved without the active participation of Africa.

    According to him, the Korean Government is enhancing its overall relations with Africa, adding that many Korean companies look at Africa as the next manufacturing base as well as a single market.

    He said: “Under this backdrop, the Korean Government has decided to host a Korea-Africa Summit next year (2024) for the first time in its history. This will lead to more high level exchange of visits, more trade and investment opportunities, and the deepening of a mutual understanding. Together with the summit meeting, the Korean government will expand its presence in Africa.

    “It will increase its ODA budget substantially in the areas of agriculture, education, health, climate adaptation and humanitarian assistance. As a model of economic development for many developing countries, Korea will showcase several platforms at the Summit in order to share its experiences of building the manufacturing base and transforming agriculture.”

  • As Korean Embassy intervenes in LADOL’s shooting incident

    Following the unprovoked shooting of a Korean employee of SHI-MCI FZE at the LADOL Free Zone by an operative of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) working as LADOL armed guard, the Korean embassy has waded into the incident, urging Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out a thorough, fair and prompt investigation into the matter.

    The Korean employee of SHI-MCI FZE, who sadly died in the hospital on Wednesday from injuries, was shot in an entirely unprovoked attack.

    Another NSCDC personnel at the LADOL Free Zone was also shot and killed during an exchange with the gunman.

    The gunman was contracted to LADOL at the time of the incident.

    SHI-MCI was said to have been vehemently opposed to the stationing of the armed guards inside SHI-MCI premises but was overruled by LADOL based on its conviction that it is obliged to provide security over the free-zone via the zone manager, Global Resources Management Free Zone Company, in accordance with conditions imposed on it by NEPZA regulations.

    This shooting incident is no doubt, a major security breach of NEPZA regulations by the zone manager.

    Read Also: Korean dies from LADOL shooting incident

    SHI-MCI FZE was said to have reported several security incidents to the zone manager relating to the alleged disorderly and dangerous conduct of the armed guards and how their employees were vulnerable to any imminent life-threatening danger posed by these armed guards.

    However, Monday’s shooting incident was a clear indication that no action was taken following these reports.

    This double-fatal shooting is latest and most serious incident that could further worsen the already strained relationship between Samsung and LADOL.

    It will also seriously pose concerns to foreign companies wishing to invest expertise and staff into Nigeria, who will already be alarmed at the alleged hostility of the zone manager towards foreign businesses like Samsung Heavy Industries.

    These prospective investors will now also be concerned about the safety of their employees.

    They will also be interested to know the steps taken by Nigerian businesses like LADOL to ensure that foreign workers are safe.

    The NSCDC has issued public statements claiming that the shooting was an accident.

    But sources within SHI-MCI FZE have faulted NSCDC’s position, insisting that the statement is implausible and should be rejected by the Nigerian authorities.

    It is expected that the Nigerian authority must take this violent incident seriously or risk losing foreign investments.

    Foreign businesses scrambling to invest in Nigeria will be waiting to see how Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to the Korean Embassy’s demand seeking a probe of the incident.

    Indeed, this is a critical moment for foreign businesses in Nigeria and a threat to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s laudable efforts to improve the “ease of doing business in Nigeria”.

    Akpan-Etukudo, an investment advisor, writes from Warri

  • Korea pledges collaboration with Nigeria

    The Republic of Korea has pledged to continue effective collaboration with Nigeria to ensure the nation attains its economic development goals.

    Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Intae Lee stated this at the official opening of a Seminar on the Operations and Regulations on Derivatives Market in Nigeria under the Knowledge Sharing Programme, KSP held at the Head office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC in Abuja Wednesday.

    The KSP which is on “Capacity Building on Operation and Regulation of Financial Derivatives Markets in Nigeria,” is based on the following topic areas: Development of Nigerian Derivatives Market, Operation, Surveillance, and Supervision on the Derivatives Market, Monitoring and Surveillance on Derivatives Market of Nigeria and Establishment of ICT infrastructure for Financial Derivatives Market.

    The Ambassador said the ceremony envisages the bright future that the two great nations will continue to build together, particularly in the area of economic and developmental cooperation. With that vision in mind, he said Korea has abundant developmental knowledge and experiences to share with Nigeria.

    According to Intae, “The Knowledge Sharing Programme represents what Korea has to offer the world. Once a poverty-stricken-country, the Korean people have built one of the most thriving market economies. Korea now also boasts the 11th largest economic growth country in the world.

    Read Also: FG orders deportation of 36 Indians, two Koreans

    “Through the KSP, Korea is going to share with Nigeria the recipes for the success of our derivatives market. Through this program, I sincerely hope Nigeria to become the financial hub of the entire African continent, not just of the West Africa.

    “Through the KSP, Korea is now offering the secrets behind our success to Nigeria so as to walk together the paths toward greater prosperity, affluence, and success.”

    He expressed confidence that the launching of the first KSP project will serve as a corner stone for the bolstered economic cooperation between the two countries in the future.

    In her remarks, Acting Director General of SEC, Mary Uduk, expressed appreciation to the government of the Republic of Korea on the programme, saying it will assist greatly in developing the derivatives market in Nigeria.

    Uduk said the country will not have a viable derivatives market without building the capacity of the regulator and other stakeholders, adding that the KSP will provide an opportunity to further develop the capital market in Nigeria.

    The Acting DG also disclosed that the Commission will welcome any collaboration with the Republic of Korea to drive digitalize operations in the Commission and the market.

    “The entire capital market is embracing financial technology and here at the SEC we are working on automating our processes to improve our regulatory work and we are open to collaborations to make this happen,” She added.

  • 90 Korean families separated by war reunite after 65 years

    Some 90 families from the two Koreas were reunited in the North on Monday, weeping and embracing each after being torn apart for more than six decades by the 1950 to 1953 Korean War.

    The brief reunions, which will last only 11 hours, are the first in three years, and took place in the North’s tourist resort on Mount Kumgang after the two Koreas renewed exchanges this year following a standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to the latest round of reunions during their first summit in April.

    About 330 South Koreans from 89 families, many of them in wheelchairs, gathered with 185 lost relatives from the North, embracing with tears, joy and disbelief.
    Some were struggling to recognize family they have not seen in more than 60 years.
    “Uncles, take my deep bow,” said Seo Soon-gyo, 55, as her 87-year-old father, Seo Jin-ho, met with two younger brothers, Chan Ho and Won Ho.

    Kim Gyong Sil and Gyong Yong, 72 and 71, wearing light violet traditional dress of hanbok, stood nervously staring at the entrance before their 99-year-old mother Han Shin-ja turned up.

    They could not speak for minutes, wailing loudly and rubbed their cheeks and hands.

    “When I fled home in the war,” said Han, failing to continue as she choked up with emotions.

    The separated families are victims of a decades-long political gridlock between the neighbors, which has escalated over the past several years as Pyongyang rapidly advanced its weapons programmes.

    More than 57,000 South Korean survivors have registered for the brief family reunion which often ends in painful farewells.

    For years, Seoul has been calling for regular meetings between separated families including using video conferences, but the reunion programmes often fell victim to fragile relations with Pyongyang.

    During his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June, Kim pledged to abandon his country’s nuclear programs if Washington provided security guarantees, but the two sides have since struggled to agree on how to reach that goal.

    South Korean president Moon, himself a member of a separated family from the North’s eastern port city of Hungnam, said on Monday that the reunions should be sharply scaled up and held on a regular basis and include exchanges of visits and letters.
    “It is a shame for both governments in the South and the North that many of the families have passed away without knowing whether or not their lost relatives were alive,” Moon told a meeting with presidential secretaries.

    “Expanding and accelerating family reunions is a top priority among humanitarian projects to be carried out by the two Koreas.”

    Ninety-three families from both sides of the border were initially scheduled for a three-day gathering from Monday, but four South Korean members canceled their trip to the North at the last minute due to health conditions, the Red Cross said.

  • Nigeria, Korea seal economic development deal

    Nigeria and Korea Republic are committed to working together to achieve sustainable economic development in Nigeria, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has said.

    She  spoke in Abuja  during the signing of the Framework Agreement for Grant  Aid Projects between the Federal Government and the Republic of Korea.

    Mrs. Ahmed signed on behalf of the Nigeria while the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Maj General In-Tac-Lee (rtd) signed for the Korean government.

    The minister said the agreement captures projects that are in line with Nigeria’s development priorities as encapsulated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    Accordingly, she said the Korean government, through the Korea International Corporation Agency (KOICA), has executed several projects in the country in various sectors of the economy, cutting across Information Communication Technology (ICT), health, education and agriculture.

    “Some of these projects include the establishment of a modern integrated rice milling complex in Niger State, cassava processing centres in Enugu, Ogun and Kogi states, donation of rice milling machines to Benue, Bayelsa and Kogi states, equipment and tool kits for HIV/AIDS to Kogi state as well as the establishment of a model school for primary and junior secondary school education in Abuja at the cost of $15million,” she said.

    Mrs. Ahmed added that the Korean government had played a key role in the development of the e-Government Master Plan, a working document for e-government policies and project implementation in the country which is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology.

     

  • N/Korea’s new nuclear test “extremely regrettable”- UN

    N/Korea’s new nuclear test “extremely regrettable”- UN

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has condemned Sunday’s reported nuclear bomb test by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

    The Director General of IAEA, Yukiya Amano, described North Korea’s latest nuclear launch as “an extremely regrettable act that completely disregarded the international community’s repeated demands.

    “Today’s nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is an extremely regrettable act.

    “This new test, which follows the two tests last year and is the sixth since 2006, is in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community.”

    UN Resolution

    In its resolutions, most recently in 2371, the UN Security Council reaffirmed its decisions that the DPRK should not conduct any further nuclear tests and should abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

    “Once again, I strongly urge the DPRK to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA,” Amano said.

    The head of the UN atomic agency noted that the agency would continue to closely follow developments in the DPRK nuclear programme and was ready to contribute to its peaceful resolution. (NAN)

  • Chinese finance minister skips trilateral meeting with Japan, Korea

    Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie skipped a trilateral meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Yokohama on Friday due to important domestic matters, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said.

    While the specific reasons for Xiao’s absence were not clear, his non-attendance casts doubt over the outlook for regional cooperation among the north-east Asian powers at an event which is supposed to build deeper economic ties.

    Finance leaders at the trilateral meeting agreed to resist all forms of protectionism, taking a stronger stand than G20 major economies against the protectionist policies advocated by U.S. President Donald Trump.

    Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Aso did not elaborate on the Chinese minister’s reasons for not attending, although he said that Xiao did not attend due to “important policy issues” at home.

    However, he said Xiao should be able to join a bilateral Japan-China finance dialogue scheduled for Saturday, in which the two sides were expected to discuss their economic cooperation.

    The trilateral meeting was held on the sideline of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual gathering in Yokohama, eastern Japan.

    The threat of China’s increasing presence in infrastructure finance to Japan’s economic influence in the area was expected to be a topic of debate at the meeting.

    An official at China’s finance ministry’s international department said “we cannot comment” when asked about Xiao’s absence from the meeting.

    The Chinese delegation was represented by its deputy finance minister and a senior official from the Chinese central bank at the trilateral summit.

    Finance officials from the three countries met and issued a resolve to resist protectionism, according to a Japanese Ministry of Finance official.

    In an attempt to reduce the region’s vulnerability to dollar swings, Japan also proposed forming 40 billion dollars in bilateral currency swap arrangements with Southeast Asian nations that will allow it to provide yen funds in times of financial stress.

    The finance leaders and central bank governors of the three nations said in a communiqué issued after their meeting that they agreed that trade was one of the most important engines of economic growth and development.

    “It will contribute to productivity improvements and job creations.

    “We will resist all forms of protectionism,” the communiqué said, keeping a line that was removed under pressure from Washington from a G20 communique in March when the group’s finance leaders met in Germany.

    China has positioned itself as a supporter of free trade in the wake of Trump’s calls to put America’s interest first and pull out of multilateral trade agreements.

    Japan has taken a more accommodative stance toward Washington’s argument that trade must not just be free but fair.

    ADB President Takehiko Nakao, a former top Japanese currency diplomat, has sought to dispel the view Japan and China are competing for influence.

    He had said on Thursday that his institution sought to cooperate not compete in the region.

    The talks came amid escalating tensions in North Korea, which moderated some of the optimism policymakers held over Asian’s economic outlook.

    While the trilateral meeting’s communiqué said Asian economies were expected to maintain “relatively robust growth”, it warned remaining downside risks meant policymakers would require all necessary tools to achieve strong growth.