The Africa–Korea Forum was launched in Seoul, South Korea, in November 2006 as a follow-up mechanism of the Korean Initiative of African Development (KIAD), which was announced in March 2006 by the then Korean President Roh Moo-hyun during his visit to Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria. Although initially envisaged as a ministerial conference, the first Africa–Korea Forum was attended by five African Heads of State. The outcome documents adopted during the first Forum were the Seoul Declaration 2006 and the Action Plan 2006–09. These acknowledged that the first Forum “laid the foundation for a framework of friendship, partnership and cooperation between Korea and the African countries”, and reflected agreement that the Forum should be held on a three-year cycle to serve as a mechanism for substantive cooperation. The second and third Forums were held in 2009 and 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. The fourth and most recent Forum was held from 6 to 7 December 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and adopted the 2016 Addis Ababa Declaration and the fourth Africa–Korea Forum Framework of Cooperation (2017–21). The next Forum is expected to be held in 2021.
