South Korea, Ivory Coast agree to bolster economic cooperation

South Korea and Ivory Coast agreed Tuesday to strengthen economic cooperation as Seoul is turning to resource-rich Africa for new business opportunities to boost its sagging economy, Yonhap news agency reported.
The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding meant to expand trade and investment between the two countries after a summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Ivory Coast counterpart, Alassane Ouattara, in Seoul.
The summit is part of South Korea's push to engage with Africa in recent years. Park met with her Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month.
South Korea shipped cars and other goods worth dlrs 144 million to Ivory Coast last year while importing raw materials worth dlrs
2 million from the western African country, according to data compiled by the South Korean government.