By Kim Ji-eun

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first summit with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau on the afternoon of September 21.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Guinea-Bissau's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon noted that Guinea-Bissau's leadership in promoting peace and security in the region during its recent chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) (July 22-23) was impressive, and expressed his pleasure that the Korean government was able to contribute to the success of the ECOWAS Summit held in July this year by providing logistical support.

President Yoon welcomed Guinea-Bissau's participation in his government's "K-Rice Belt" project and called for continued bilateral cooperation in areas such as agriculture, fisheries, development cooperation, and health. President Yoon also noted that his government will host the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit in Korea next year, and invited President Embalo to attend.

President Embalo said he expects the summit to be a milestone in the new relationship between Korea and Africa, and expressed his desire to visit Korea next year to see first-hand the progress that has been made and to explore further cooperation with the Republic of Korea.

The two leaders used the summit as an opportunity to further enhance bilateral exchanges.