The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has won Korean support for a cooperation fund and trade tools at senior officials’ talks in Seoul ahead of a ministerial meeting.
The preparatory session focused on strengthening Africa and Korea cooperation, advancing AfCFTA implementation and scaling partnerships in trade, digital systems and industrial development, according to people familiar with the discussions. Both sides agreed to deepen economic ties, infrastructure development and institutional capacity building across the continent.
The talks produced firm support for the Korea-AfCFTA Cooperation Fund, expanded capacity building for African customs authorities and backing for a one stop origin management system. Korean officials also committed to sharing lessons from their country’s experience with free trade agreements.
The session fed into the Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which opened in Seoul on Monday under the theme of partnership for joint responses to global challenges. It drew representatives from 50 of the 54 African countries invited, along with four regional bodies, including the African Union and the African Development Bank. AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene was scheduled to deliver one of the keynote addresses.
The Secretariat used the occasion to highlight a partnership with the Republic of Korea that now spans several technical and private sector projects. These include work with KTNet on an Origin Management System, startup acceleration programmes with the Korea-Africa Foundation, Single Window development with CUPIA, and trade and transport facilitation with KAIST. The Secretariat is also collaborating with the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on private sector engagement.
