By Lee Kap-soo

Dear readers of Diplomacy Journal,

The year 2023 has come to an end, and with it many of the dreams we had hoped to achieve during that period. Therefore, and on the occasion of the New Year 2024 - which is now beginning, giving us a new opportunity to renew our plans and look to the future, hoping to be promising, especially with regard to Angola and Korea relations - I would like to extend, on behalf of the Angolan Embassy in Korea, the warmest greetings and best wishes to the Korean people, especially the business-class!

This is the fourth time I have celebrated the New Year in Korea since I presented the credential letter in November 2019. So I would like to take the opportunity to briefly reflect on trade relations between Angola and Korea.

I would like to start by saying that our Embassy has been working tirelessly to enable more Korean companies to benefit from the business opportunities that have arisen in recent years in the Angolan market, enabled by the achievement of definitive peace in April 2002, which encouraged the Angolan government to update and modernize its Private Investment Law, which has significantly improved conditions for investors and made it easier to attract private investment to our country.

On Angola's part, I would like to point out that in recent years, following the partnership established with the Korean company DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), the Angolan company Sonangol E.P. and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries have developed several projects in the field of shipbuilding and equipment for the oil industry which, I believe, will have a significant impact on the trade balance between the two countries for the coming period. 

It should be noted that, according to data from 2021, Angola's exports to Korea totaled $104 million, led by products such as crude oil ($66.5 million), petroleum gas ($34.9 million) and "Raw Lead” ($862 thousand). Over the last 26 years, Angola's exports to Korea have increased at an annual rate of 0.19%, rising from 98 million in 1995 to $104 million in 2021 (KITA 2021), while on the Korean side, a total of $145 million was exported to Angola, with semiconductors device ($49 million) leading the way, followed by propylene polymers ($20 million), refined petroleum ($18 million). The growth rate over the last 26 years has been 6.15%, from $30 million in 1995 to $145 million in 2021.     

I believe that the figures above could change significantly when more companies start exploring the business opportunities offered by the Angolan market. Of the various products that I believe are attractive to South Korea, I would highlight, as example, coffee, fishmeal, ornamental rocks, marble, manganese, granite and raw materials for the steel industry and semi-conductor technologies.

At present, several companies have been interacting with the Embassy with a view to realizing their investment intentions in the Angolan market. This desire has been made easier with the unilateral measure adopted by Angola to eliminate the need for a visa for Korean citizens to enter Angola. 

I am also confident that the number of Korean companies interested in investing in the Angolan market could increase when the Reciprocal Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, which is currently in the pipeline, is signed. I say this because Angola is a growing center in the sub-region and the creation of industries in Angola can serve as a preferential gateway to Southern Africa, with competitive advantages such as geographical location for trade, travel and tourism, access to 1.2 billion customers through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), with 75% of the population under the age of 25, which means there is a quality workforce in the country.

I think that just as the US, investment in the oil sector in Angola has moved towards other sectors, such as solar energy and agricultural development projects in Angola, and is currently forging the possibility of a mega investment in the railroad sector, with Caminhos de Ferro de Benguela (CFB), something that was cemented during President João Lourenço's visit to the US on November 30, so the trade relationship between Angola and Korea can move on to new horizons, if we work towards it.

So, in conclusion, I would like to reiterate my best wishes, hoping for the success of all South Koreans and, most importantly, for good health in this New Year that begins.