The establishment of direct flights between Seoul and Nigeria will open up business opportunities and boost hi-tech startups, the 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, Choi Jong Kun has said.
Speaking in Abuja during a diplomatic shuttle to Nigeria, the Minister said lack of direct flights between Nigeria and Korea is hampering business opportunities between the peoples of the two countries.
“There is the need for Nigeria and South Korea to explore the possibility of establishing direct flights between the two countries to facilitate frequent movements between the two countries. That will also improve government-to-government collaboration and the private sector. The private sector, especially businesses should be able to come to Nigeria and do business in a stable environment. Though international travels are risky at this time, if we need to do so, we will,” he said.
The Minister paid tribute to the status of Nigeria as a formidable nation, stating that the country is not only the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, but also the largest black nation on earth, underscoring the importance of Nigeria in the multilateral setting.
Choi Jong Kun opined that Nigerians having access to social space will make technology sharing between Nigerian youths and Korean companies easy.
“Sharing makes technology more advanced. I think having more access by Nigerian people to the hi-tech arena, more access to social media makes the possibility of sharing much more possible. In other words, the market environment has to be safe and predictable. This will open the way for our hi-tech companies to come into Nigeria to set up startup companies with very smart Nigerian young people and create employment.
“There are opportunities for Nigerian students to come to Seoul to get high degrees because we have good training courses which are very attractive to foreign students,” he stated.
The Korean Minister listed functional legal framework, media vigilance, the commitment of political leadership, citizens’ participation and energetic non-government organisations as actions that are needed to tame corruption.
“What matters is the citizens’ minds and how organised they are in tackling corruption. That was what we did in Korea when we had a lot of corruption cases. We have not resolved the corruption problem one hundred per cent though. Top leaders’ commitment, citizens watching, the non-governmental organisation vigilant, the media and legal framework are needed to tackle corruption in any society,” he submitted.
