Ghana’s Ambassador-designate to South Korea, Mr Kojo Choi, on Tuesday, August 26, paid a courtesy call on the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and Senior Advisor to the President on the Sustainable Development Goals, Dr Nii Moi Thompson. 

The call was aimed at exploring avenues for deepening cooperation between Ghana and South Korea.

The meeting underscored Ghana’s interest in drawing lessons from South Korea’s rapid economic growth, particularly in industrialisation, research and development, and infrastructure. 

Dr Thompson recalled his visit to South Korea in 2015, during which a business development strategist described the country as suffering from “capital saturation” and in need of opportunities to invest its surplus capital abroad. 

He stressed the importance of attracting some of this investment to Ghana, highlighting the country’s strategic location and access to key markets such as Europe. 

He further cited the Korea Railway Research Institute and other research-based institutions as examples of technical cooperation and knowledge sharing that Ghana could benefit from.

For his part, Ambassador Choi, a naturalised Ghanaian of Korean descent, expressed his commitment to strengthening ties between Ghana and South Korea, not only in trade and investment but also in social and cultural exchanges. 

He revealed his personal mission to reconnect Ghanaian-Korean children with their biological families, a matter he described as sensitive but vital for deepening people-to-people relations.

The discussions also touched on Ghana’s development agenda, including the President’s Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies and the Ghana Infrastructure Plan currently being prepared by the NDPC. 

Dr Thompson noted that the Coordinated Programme would include key performance indicators to be assigned to Ghana’s diplomats. He also introduced Mr Choi to the NDPC staff, who have benefited from training and capacity-building programmes supported by the South Korean government over the years.