Expert Meeting with 
African Development Bank (AfDB)

A delegation from the African Development Bank (AfDB), including Kevin Urama, Vice President; Edmond Wega, Director; Eric Ogunleye, Division Manager of Policy Management; and Ji Young Jang , Knowledge Dissemination and Event Assistant, visited KDI on July 13th.

The purpose of their visit was to identify KDI as a benchmark institution for their plan to establish a research institute focused on policy research for Africa's economic development. During their visit to the Vision Hall, the AfDB representatives listened to the establishment background,  50 years of research achievements, and international cooperation status of KDI, gaining a deeper understanding of KDI's significance in Korea's economic and social development process. They conveyed their gratitude to KDI for the insights gained.

During the subsequent expert consultation, Vice President Urama explained that the Knowledge and Capacity Development Fund (KCDF) is being established to facilitate Africa's preparation for sustainable development in the region through knowledge development. He emphasized that previous development projects in Africa have primarily focused on visible infrastructure development, and now the need has arisen for "soft infrastructure," which involves knowledge development.

Attending the meeting, Vice President Youngsun Koh and Head of the Division of Development Research, Daeyong Kim, introduced cases of Myanmar and Vietnam, which have established research institutes benchmarking KDI. They also suggested acquiring expertise in preliminary feasibility studies from the Public and Private Infrastructure Investment Management Center at KDI.

Both sides considered the meeting as the first step towards the establishment of a research institute similar 'KDI' in Africa and pledged to continue communication to explore cooperation possibilities in the future.


For any inquiries, please contact Ms. Hae Won JEON  at natalie@kdi.re.kr