Dec 28, 2015 | News

NEPAD and South Korea to strengthen partnership in ICTs

NEPAD Agency CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki and Minister and Council General of the South Korean Embassy, Kim Young Chae, met today at the NEPAD Offices in Midrand, to explore new areas of cooperation in the field of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs).

The meeting took place ahead of the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace between October 17 and 18 in South Korea, in which NEPAD will present two publications on how the internet economy will impact on Africa’s transformation and how capacities can be built to improve cyber security on the continent.

During the visit, NEPAD CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki emphasised on the need to strengthen cooperation between Africa and South Korea in the ICT sector through think tanks such as the Korea Development Institute (KDI).

Mr Chae said: “Africans are more aware of the importance of ICTs these days. South Korea has been at the forefront in ICT development and is committed to jointly make progress with Africa in this area.”

Head of the NEPAD e-Africa Programme, Dr Edmund Katiti emphasised on the opportunity for Africa to learn from South Korea’s success stories and how these could be applied on the continent. He spoke on the NEPAD e-Africa Programme which aims to build ICT capacities across the continent and is advocating on topics related to cybersecurity and cybercrime as well as the social and economic benefits of ICTs for Africa.