On Monday, November 25, CIRES participated in the “SEOUL FORUM 2019” on Korea-West Africa cooperation in the field of infrastructure.

This high-level forum, organized by the Korean Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire in collaboration with the Korea-Africa Foundation, was attended by Seoul National University and several Korean multinational companies active in the field of infrastructure development, as well as technical ministries, universities, international institutions, and economic actors and organizations in Côte d’Ivoire. The forum aimed to identify trends in infrastructure projects and strengthen economic and trade relations by fostering exchanges between economic stakeholders in Korea and West Africa.

Following the various opening remarks, three presentations were given by three Ivorian technical ministries, namely:
The current status of the 2016–2020 National Development Plan (PND) and the 2020–2024 National Budget Plan (PNB), presented by Mr. TOURE SULTAN, Director of Planning and Public Investments at the Ministry of Planning and Development. Several achievements were highlighted, particularly regarding the development of basic infrastructure: these include the expansion and modernization of the road network across the entire national territory. As part of the Côte d’Ivoire 2040 Vision aimed at achieving the much-desired economic emergence, several projects are currently underway and will be implemented. The second presentation on the urban planning scheme for Greater Abidjan, delivered by Mr. KOUAME Kouman, Director of Land Transport and Traffic at the Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Urban Planning, focused on the master plan for Greater Abidjan. This project, which lasted 25 months and began in March 2013, was carried out by a consortium of Korean and Ivorian firms.

Finally, the plan for Côte d’Ivoire’s transportation networks was presented by Mr. YAPO Nazaire, Director of Urban Planning at the Ministry of Transportation. Professor BYUN Oung of Seoul National University, through a discussion of the history of Korea’s economic and social infrastructure development and its implications for African countries, explained that, much like Côte d’Ivoire, Japan was colonized and experienced crises, but Japan was able to adopt a rigorous resilience strategy, which has enabled it to become a global power today.