- KOICA Pakistan Office and KOICA Alumni Association Pakistan (KAAP) successfully held its Annual Reception and Knowledge Sharing Seminar on October 1, 2024 in Islamabad. The event was organized to encourage knowledge sharing among alumni of KOICA trainees in Pakistan and to strengthen the development cooperation network between Korea and Pakistan.

The event was attended by H.E. Park Ki-jun, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea and Mr. Yeon Je-ho, Country Director of KOICA Pakistan Office, Special Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division, Mr. Muhammad Humair Karim, and Joint Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division Mr. Sajid Manzoor. H.E. Park Ki-jun, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea said “The development cooperation partnership between Korea and Pakistan will be further strengthened through the knowledge dissemination and exchange of KOICA trainees,”  ”We are very pleased to support Pakistan's sustainable development through the exchange of knowledge and skills between our two countries and promote prosperity for future generations through human resource capacity building.”

The event featured two Training program alumni who shared their lessons learned from Korea. A trainee from Exploration of Good Research and Development Agricultural Productivity of Pakistan presented Agricultural Productivity: a pathway to Nutrition & Food Security in Pakistan, highlighting the impact of agricultural productivity in Pakistan on nutrition and food security, and emphasizing the important role of the agricultural sector in the country's economic and social development. Another trainee from Capacity Building for Formulating and Evaluating Economic Development presented Economic Development Strategy and Policy in Pakistan, analyzing the country's economic development strategy and policies and suggesting effective policies for economic development.

The KOICA Pakistan office reported on the main activities of KAAP in 2024. They shared the knowledge sharing events held this year in Quetta (June) and Peshawar (September), as well as the active participation of alumni members through the Earth Day plogging Campaign in May. “We are grateful for the active participation of many alumni in volunteer activities and look forward to continuing these activities,” said KOICA Pakistan.

The event also promoted the upcoming KOREA WEEK, which will be hosted by the Korean Embassy in Pakistan from October 22nd to 27th. The event aims to promote cooperation and cultural exchange between Pakistan and Korea, and many members were encouraged to attend and further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

To date, a total of 1,834 alumni members [K1] have been trained from KOICA's training programs in Pakistan, and since the establishment of KAAP in 2010, various activities and seminars have been held every year through the Knowledge Sharing seminar. This year, 243 trainees attended the Knowledge Sharing seminar, and the KOICA Pakistan office said, “We expect that such knowledge sharing and cooperation will maintain the friendly relations between Pakistan and Korea and serve as a driving force for regional and national development.” 

With this event, KOICA Pakistan and the alumni members pledged to continue their efforts in knowledge dissemination and human resource capacity building between Korea and Pakistan, and plan to maintain a mutually beneficial partnership.