Korea-Kenya Culture and Networking Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya… Hosted by KOICA Trainee Alumni Association

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seong Do-hyeon = An event was held in Nairobi, Kenya, known as the 'Silicon Savannah' for leading digital innovation on the African continent, to gather people who share special experiences with Korea.

According to the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on the 16th, the '2026 Korea-Kenya Culture and Networking Forum' was held at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel on the 4th (local time) hosted by the KOICA Trainee Alumni Association (KAKC).

Most of the 100 attendees at the event were key Kenyan talents who returned to their home country after seeing and learning about advanced technologies and development experiences in Korea at the invitation of KOICA.

The event with the theme of 'Korea-Kenya artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, technology transfer, and cultural synergy utilization for sustainable development' was designed as an opportunity to discuss future-oriented partnerships between the two countries beyond promoting friendship.

KAKC, a non-profit organization formed in May 2008, has grown into a knowledge network encompassing high-ranking Kenyan government officials and technical experts. As of March this year, the number of members was 1,792.

The topic of the day's event was the shift from aid to mutual cooperation.

KAKC President Angela Mukiri said, “We need to go beyond unilateral aid and open the next chapter of cooperation centered on what Korea and Kenya can create together,” and said the alumni association should be recognized as a major institutional partner that will lead cooperation between the two countries.

Kenyan Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi gave a lecture at Sungkyunkwan University during his visit to Korea in June to attend the 'Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers' Meeting' and introduced an anecdote about inspecting the industrial-academic cooperation site between Gyeonggi University of Science and Technology and Hyundai Motor Company.

Prime Minister Mudavadi said, “The 2,400 alumni who are beneficiaries of the KOICA training program are key assets in Kenya’s national transformation,” and asked them to “act as special envoys connecting government decision-makers and global technology innovators.”

He also emphasized that with Korea's selection as a priority partner country for Official Development Assistance (ODA), the relationship between the two countries is being redefined to focus on technology, innovation, and investment beyond aid.

He selected Kenya-AIST (Kenya-AIST), modeled after the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Kenya's large-scale development project 'Konza Technopolis' as successful future visions.

Kang Hyeong-sik, Korean Ambassador to Kenya, said, “Kenya is the first sub-Saharan African country to have a Korean embassy since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1964.” He added, “Korea views Kenya as an equal partner who solves global challenges together and pursues common prosperity.”

At the same time, he emphasized that the relationships formed between the trainees are a valuable asset for both countries, and announced that he will expand cooperation in the future to areas such as AI, clean energy, smart agriculture, and youth capacity building.

Park Wan-gyu, head of KOICA's Kenya office, introduced the current status of field-based support such as safe drinking water supply, maternal and child health, and eco-friendly technology-based vocational training (TVET).

According to Director Park, approximately 200,000 Kenyans are currently benefiting from KOICA's drinking water support, and there are plans to support an additional 200,000 people in the future.

In addition, he added that he is actively exploring business cooperation models through connections between Korean manufacturing, beauty and health, and animation companies and Kenyan organizations.