South Korean President begins trip to Africa, France on Wednesday

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will embark on a 12-day trip to Africa and France beginning Wednesday.

    During a visit to three African nations, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, the president will hold a series of summit meetings with the heads of the state of the countries to discuss mutual interests including the strengthening of bilateral ties, South Korean (KBS) World reported.

    In addition, Park will deliver a speech at the African Union in Addis Ababa for the first time as a South Korean president before meeting with African Union Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

    The president will introduce the "Korea Aid" project, an official development assistance (ODA) program, under which special trucks will be mobilized to provide food, health checkups and cultural entertainment to people in Africa.

    After wrapping up the Africa trip on June first, Park will fly to France for a state visit to mark the 130th anniversary of Seoul-Paris relations. During the South Korea-France summit, Park and President Francois Hollande are expected to discuss North Korea-related issues and ways to boost their bilateral economic partnership as well as cooperation in the culture and tourism fields.

Source: QNA