South Korea Pledges $590 Million Support To Africa

South Korea & Rwanda have strengthened ties

South Korea is apparently the only country that's gone from a major aid recipient to a major aid donor in the past 60 years. From AllAfrica.com: "The South Korean government has pledged more support to African countries by extending $590 million in aid and loans over the next two years. The pledge was announced last week by the Korean government during the first ever 'Korea-Africa Cooperation Week' held in Seoul, South Korea. The 'Cooperation Week' took place from October 15 to18 with the three major forums on Korea-Africa cooperation being held simultaneously for the first time. Building infrastructure, developing natural and human resources, and supporting agriculture and green growth in the African continent will be among the major areas of cooperation."

The article continues: "In the 1950s, after the end of the Korean War, South Korea had a weaker economy than many newly independent sub-Saharan African countries. Now, it is one of the world's 15 biggest economies and has an estimated GDP per capita of $23,000. However as the Korean government pursues its development agenda in Africa; the Asian country has a strong bilateral relations with Rwanda. The economic relationship between Rwanda and Korea is mostly in the areas of ICT, infrastructure, education and agriculture among others. 'Rwanda is one of our priority countries in Africa that we will promote capacity building in various sectors and increase business and cultural exchanges,' said Hwang Soon-Taik, Korean Ambassador to Rwanda."