‘South African, Korean economies can complement each other’

With the silver jubilee of diplomatic ties slated on Dec.1 this year, South Africa and South Korea can expand cooperation by exploiting economic areas of mutual benefit, according to Ambassador Nozuko Gloria Bam.

South Africa’s recently adopted National Development Plan targets economic diversification and higher competitiveness, covering mining, agriculture, manufacturing and services. To achieve these measures, the government identified 40 projects in energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, which would help propel the country’s industrialization and modernization.

“Trade and investment remains the backbone of our relations, and there is still considerable room to expand and diversify our commerce,” the South African top envoy to Korea said in an interview ahead of the country’s Freedom Day on Thursday.

The national holiday celebrates the freedom and democracy that began with the first post-apartheid elections in 1994. This year’s Freedom Day also marks the birth centenary of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo (1917-93), a South African anti-apartheid politician who served as President of the African National Congress from 1967 to 1991.

Noting that South Africa chose 2017 as the year of Oliver Tambo, Bam said he dedicated his life to equality and justice as one of the founding fathers of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. Tambo also played an integral role in liberating South Africa from apartheid oppression, which lasted from 1948 through 1991.



Full story at Korea Herald.