Angolan President João Lourenço has signed a bilateral trade and investment promotion framework with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, the Korea Herald reports.
The framework was one of five memorandums of understanding signed during Lourenço’s recent visit to Seoul.
The two sides agreed to expand existing development cooperation in the education, agricultural and fisheries sector to include customs and administration and other areas, the Herald reports. They also agreed to hold further discussion to finalise a US$1 billion loan under the Korea Economic Development Co-operation Fund.
Lourenço arrived Sunday for a three-day trip to the Asian country. He is only the second Angolan president to visit South Korea since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, 10 years before the end of a decades’ long civil war in the Southern African nation.
[See more: Angola and China agree to stronger ties]
Yoon’s office praised the signed agreements as opening the door for more Korean companies to sign deals with Angolan partners, specifically in areas of existing strength like merchant shipping and solar energy.
Other agreements centred on health, law enforcement and international relations, the Herald says. Angola and Korea agreed to exchange information related to medical policies, promote their respective medicine industries and train health professionals. Their law enforcement agencies will also cooperate to address cybercrime, terrorism and drug-related crimes.
Lourenço’s trip comes ahead of the upcoming inaugural Korea-Africa Summit, scheduled for early June. The Korean government says the gathering will “set a milestone for Korea and Africa’s path for shaping a future of sustainable co-prosperity as genuine partners.”
