In cooperation with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute, the Korea Institute for Development Strategy (KDS) launched the second KSP with Gabon. The Republic of Gabon is currently in the process of diversifying its industries to reduce its dependence on petroleum. In this aspect, Korea’s development experience in industrial diversification is considered to be very valuable for achieving what the Republic of Gabon is aiming for. This year’s KSP succeeds last year’s KSP with Gabon on “Moving toward the diversification of Gabonese Economy: Lessons learned from Korea,” where Korean experts in the area of small and medium enterprise, agriculture, tourism, and ICT were assigned to provide policy recommendations on how to develop each sector. Based on last year’s general development strategy consultation, this year’s project aims to provide detailed and practical action plans.
As the first stage of the project, a delegation of Korean experts headed by Dr. Song, Jae Ho, visited Libreville from July 30th to August 9th, 2012 to conduct “Demand Survey and Pilot Study.” The delegation paid courtesy visits to the ministers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Work, and Employment. Following the grand welcoming reception by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation visited various institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and National Parks, Ministry of Agriculture, Chamber of Commerce, and ANINF to identify policy priorities, as well as to gather data and information. After long discussions with the Gabonese counterparts, sub topics of each sector were agreed, and KDS and the Gabonese government promised for continuous cooperation for the successful implementation of the 2012 KSP.
For the next stage, 10 Gabonese government officials will be invited to visit South Korea in Oct., 2012 for the interim reporting seminar and workshops. During this visit, MOU will be signed between the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Gabonese government.
