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“In Seoul, they had multiple meetings not only with Korean government officials, but also with many Korean businessmen and development experts. I am confident that these engagements will lead to further increase in economic exchanges between Korea and Nigeria.

“During the Korea-Africa Summit, my President announced that Korea would continue to expand official development assistance up to $10 billion by 2030, as a catalyst for project cooperation with Africa. In addition, he committed to providing $14 billion to Korean companies by 2030 to encourage their activities in Africa.

“I am happy to share the news that recently, an intra-governmental task force team has been composed to follow up on the economic partnership agreements made on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit. Since Nigeria is a leading economy and the biggest market in Africa, I believe that the partnership between Korea and Nigeria will be one of the most vibrant ones in the years to come.

“In fact, we are already witnessing meaningful progress. During the third quarter of this year, the trade between Korea and Nigeria increased by 55 per cent. In particular, I would like to point out the fact that the import from Nigeria to Korea increased by 91 per cent. I believe that this positive development will continue as more and more Koreans are interested in Nigeria and more and more Nigerians are interested in Korea.”

The Ambassador said he was excited with the level of acceptance of Korean culture, especially its music by Nigerians.

According to him, there was a huge potential for cooperation between the two countries in the creative economy.

Pankyu said: “When I first came to Abuja earlier this year, I was pleasantly surprised by Nigerian people’s high interest in Korean culture, such as Korean language, K-drama, K-pop and K-food.

“I had an opportunity to observe a K-food contest in Abuja and was deeply impressed by the Korean foods made by Nigerian chefs. When I observed the Taekwondo championship in Abuja recently, I had a feeling that in a few years, the number of gold medals that Korean athletes win at the Olympics may decrease due to brilliant Nigerian athletes.

“My fellow Koreans may be disappointed but as a former Korean ambassador to Nigeria, I will be happy to watch that. I believe these kinds of cultural exchanges between our two countries will strengthen our bonds of friendship and mutual understanding”, he said. 

On the Republic of Korea’s vision of advancing freedom, peace and prosperity globally, the envoy sought the support of Nigeria, given her expertise in promoting peace and stability.

He said: “As one of the 10 elected members of the UN Security Council, Korea is stepping up its efforts to address these kinds of challenges in cooperation with global partners. I believe Nigeria, a leader in promoting peace and stability in this region, is an important partner for Korea in this aspect as well, and look forward to closer coordination.”