Addis Abeba — Developing countries are eager to learn from Korea's development strategies and experiences of the last five decades as Koreans are happy to share their experiences with friends including Ethiopia, revealed Korean Ambassador on Saturday.

Chung Soonsuk, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Ethiopia, said at the annual meeting of Korea-Ethiopia Alumni Association (KEAA) here that Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has a special importance not only to enhance friendship among members who share the Korean experiences but also to play a bridging role in aspects of cooperation between the countries.

InYeup Song, Chief Representative of KOICA Ethiopia Office, said on his part that the objective of KOICA Alumni meeting was to enhance the goodwill among Korea-Ethiopia Alumni Association (KEAA) members and to find a good way to activate knowledge and experience sharing learned during KOICA training period so that organizations as well as the country can be benefited eventually.

KOICA is a Korean governmental agency for the implementation of grant aid and technical cooperation of the Korean government including training programs, which aim to develop a global partnership for sustainable development through Human Resource Development (HRD).

One of the lessons learned from the experience sharing was the importance of human capacity building. KOICA thus focuses on training programs as a way of technical cooperation, and has invited 422 Ethiopian officials and experts for various training programs in Korea since 1991.

According to Biruk Zenebe, KOICA Program Coordinator, individuals invited by the agency for training held had their own role in the country's socio-economic and culture development over the last 45 years. The trainees gained first hand knowledge of Koran development strategies to acquire technical and managerial skills, he said.

At the end of the meeting the KEAA Executive Committee members were awarded for their contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The International Cooperation Agency was founded as a governmental agency to maximize the effectiveness of Korea's grant aid and technical cooperation programs.

In the past, development cooperation efforts were focused on meeting the Basic Human Needs (BHNs) of developing countries and on fostering their Human Development (HRD), added Biruk.