Ajirioghene Imah
Vice President, Kashim Shettima has restated Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening relations with the Republic of Korea, especially in promotion of trade, technology transfer and maintaining global peace.
Shettima stated this when he received a delegation from the Republic of Korea led by the Special Envoy to the President, H.E. Jang Sungmin, at the Presidential Villa.
According to him, “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.
“We are 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.
“Many years ago in the 50s and 60s, the Korean GDP was at par with many African countries but today, Korea is among the developed nations. This is partly due to the leadership and commitment of the Korean people.” he said
He stressed that Nigeria is willing to partner with Korea in the area of technology because by 2030, adding that the country is in a unique position to fill in the talent deficits Russia and Brazil is experiencing.
“75% of Nigerians are below the age of 35, so we are soliciting for 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 $120B last year from global outsourcing and we are in a unique position to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector. We need the skills set, we need the technology to drive the process and yours is a technology that we can embrace.” he added.
He further assured the Korean Government that the Tinubu led-administration is committed to partner with Korea to strengthen relations with both countries, making it easier for Korean businesses and other foreign investors to do business in Nigeria, adding that the President will honour the invitation of his Korean counterpart to the Africa-Korea summit in 2024.
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 special invitation from President Yoon to his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, to attend the forthcoming Africa-Korea Summit in South Korea and restated his country’s continuous support for Nigeria across different sectors, noting that Korea’s collaboration with Nigeria can lead the 4th Industrial Revolution, maintaining that the country’s development is akin to Nigeria’s development.
