By Doh James Sonkey
The President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya has received an invitation to participate at the maiden edition of the South Korea-Africa summit to be held in Seoul next year. The revelation was made during an audience last November 1, 2023 at Unity Palace between the Head of State, H.E Paul Biya and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Han Duck-soo.
Both personalities held bilateral talks aimed at strengthening the friendly and excellent diplomatic relations that exist between Yaounde and Seoul.
Cameroon President and his guest warmly exchanged views on key areas of partnership such as health care, education, human resource development, mining, and the digital economy. President Paul Biya acknowledged some of the successful Korean projects in Cameroon, including the General Hospital in Garoua, the digitalisation of customs clearance procedure, and the training programme of engineers.
There was a convergence of views on the need to expand cooperation ties – to bring more benefits to their citizens. The focus was on the digitalisation of government-issued identification documents, and the involvement of Korean investors in some mining projects.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s official visit to Cameroon is part of an African tour to solicit support for South Korea’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan. A vote to determine the host country of the proposed world’s fair shall be held by the Member States of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on 28 November 2023.