The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea, H. E. Mr. Noh Kyu-duk, has donated, on behalf of his Government and People, 10 sets of computers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The IT equipment are to be used by the Ministry’s Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains prospective diplomats in all the rudiments of diplomacy.

Speaking at the ceremony marking the turning over of the computers and printers, Ambassador Noh said the equipment were gifts from his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stating that the Korean National Diplomacy Academy (KNDA) is the equivalent of Liberia’s FSI, Ambassador Noh also added that the KNDA was recently named among the world’s 100 think tanks by the Chinese Social Science Institute.

“So I think that in the years to come, if we can strengthen the relationship between the FSI and KNDA, we will have great achievements,” the Korean Diplomat stated.

He said that institutes such as the FSI and KNDA are extremely important because they are the “beginning and future of both countries’ diplomacy.”

“They are the future because they have to serve as the reservoirs of daily knowledge and also as initiators of new concepts of international relations preparing to intensify to be able to tackle complex challenges of the 21^st Century,” Amb. Noh added.

He expressed the hope that the computers and printers will help increase the FSI’s capacity. He promised to do his best to further strengthen the relationship.

Also speaking, Dr. Augustine Konneh, Director of FSI, thanked H. E. Noh for the donation to the FSI.

“This is a timely gift that will complement the existing resources of the institute and will play a very meaningful role, particularly in supporting information, communication and technology curriculum that we don’t have within the Institute,” Dr. Konneh said.

He concluded by thanking the Korean Diplomat for his foresight and looked forward to the Ambassador deepening the relationship between Liberia and Korea.

Earlier, the Korean Diplomat met privately with Hon. B. Elias Shoniyin, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During their discussion, Ambassador Noh hailed Dr. Konneh for ably serving as one of the panelists at the Abuja Global Partnership Forum, which was organized by the Korean Government. 

Acting Minister Shoniyin remembered fondly how in the 1980s, South Korea provided about 20 protocol vehicles for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He stated many old employees of the Ministry still remember the good gestures of the Korean Republic.

The Acting Foreign Minister thanked Ambassador Noh for accepting to be the keynote speaker at the commencement convocation of the Science College at the University of Liberia.