South Korea Hosts Senior Officials from 50 African Nations for Preparatory Meeting Ahead of Ministerial Talks
Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae and Ghana's Betty Osafo Mensah co-chaired the 2026 Korea-Africa Senior Officials' Meeting on May 31 to prepare for next week's foreign ministers gathering.
apnews.comSenior officials from South Korea and 50 African countries gathered in Seoul on May 31 to prepare for an upcoming foreign ministers meeting focused on cooperation amid global challenges, Yonhap reported. The 2026 Korea-Africa Senior Officials' Meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae and Betty Osafo Mensah, director of the diaspora affairs bureau of Ghana's foreign ministry.
The session forms part of preparations for the Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting scheduled for next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
That ministerial meeting is expected to draw foreign ministers and representatives from 50 of the 54 invited African countries, along with regional organizations. Participants will discuss ways to promote shared prosperity and sustainable growth and to strengthen solidarity between South Korea and African nations.
Chung said in her opening remarks that South Korea and Africa should respond to increasingly complex global challenges amid the Middle East conflict and other issues through greater solidarity than ever before.
She also emphasized that the two sides are partners capable of pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation, noting South Korea's advanced technological capabilities and Africa's abundant natural resources and strategic importance in global shipping routes.
Mensah stressed the importance of stronger cooperation between the two sides, which are facing multiple global crises, and expressed hope for stronger practical relationships in areas including critical minerals and supply chains, renewable energy and food security, the ministry said.
Senior officials from African countries posed for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Korea-Africa Senior Officials' Meeting in Seoul on May 31, Yonhap reported.
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