By UN Journal Kayla Lee

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Keabetswe Mene and discussed Korea-AfCFTA cooperation and the upcoming Korea-Africa Summit on April 23.
 
Minister Cho welcomed Secretary General Mene to Korea for the second time since his visit in July last year and praised the AfCFTA's efforts to integrate Africa into a single market. 

Minister Cho also expressed that the Korean government, as well as Korean companies seeking to enter Africa, are very interested in the progress of the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement.

Mene expressed his appreciation to the Korean government for its active support to the AfCFTA Secretariat since its inception, and in particular for supporting the work of the AfCFTA Secretariat through the Korea-AU Cooperation Fund last year. 

He also expressed the hope that the AU will continue to work closely with the Republic of Korea in accelerating the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Cho invited Mene to participate in the upcoming Korea-Africa Summit in June and contribute his experience and expertise to expand bilateral trade cooperation. 

In response, Mene expressed his appreciation for the Korean government's efforts to strengthen ties with Africa and said he would definitely attend the historic Korea-Africa Summit.

The meeting was an important opportunity to review the status of trade and investment cooperation, which is a key agenda item of the AfCFTA and the Korea-Africa Summit, and to discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation with the AfCFTA, a major international organization in Africa, just 40 days ahead of the Korea-Africa Summit.