▲ Senior officials from African countries pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Korea-Africa Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) in Seoul on May 31, 2026. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Africa FM meeting

Senior officials of S. Korea, 50 African nations gather in Seoul to explore joint responses to global challenges

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Senior officials from South Korea and 50 African countries gathered in Seoul on Sunday, ahead of a ministerial meeting, to discuss ways to boost cooperation in addressing global challenges, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The 2026 Korea-Africa Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM), co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hae and Betty Osafo Mensah, director of the diaspora affairs bureau of Ghana's foreign ministry, was part of preparations for the upcoming Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting, according to the ministry.

The ministerial meeting is expected to bring together foreign ministers and representatives from 50 African countries, out of the 54 countries invited, as well as regional organizations, to discuss ways to promote shared prosperity and sustainable growth and strengthen solidarity between the two sides.

"South Korea and Africa should respond to increasingly complex global challenges amid the Middle East conflict and other issues through greater solidarity than ever before," Chung said in her opening remarks.

Chung also emphasized that the two sides are partners capable of pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation, as South Korea possesses advanced technological capabilities, while Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources and holds strategic importance in global shipping routes.

Mensah stressed the importance of stronger cooperation between the two sides, which are facing multiple global crises, expressing hope for stronger practical relationships in various areas, including critical minerals and supply chains, renewable energy and food security, the ministry said.

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