Ryu Je-myung (류제명), second vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, met Botswana Vice President Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe on Wednesday to discuss ways to cooperate in AI and ICT.

The meeting was arranged at the request of the Botswana government, which is pushing a shift from a resource-based economy to a digital and knowledge-based economy. Ryu expressed sympathy for Botswana's Vision 2036 strategy and introduced South Korea's innovation experience in moving from a resource-poor country to an ICT powerhouse to Gaolathe, who is visiting South Korea.

Ryu also shared major AI policies and achievements the government is pursuing. He explained the public-facing "10 AI projects for people's livelihoods" and experience in promoting regional AI transformation, or AX. He stressed that South Korean policy examples, including the "AI Digital Learning Center" aimed at narrowing the digital divide, could also serve as references for Botswana's digital transition.

He also introduced the "Global AI Hub" that is being promoted for development in South Korea to help address shared challenges such as climate and food, and asked for the Botswana government's interest and support.

Ryu said, "I hope that sharing today's valuable experiences can help Botswana push its major transition toward the knowledge-based economy it aims for," and added, "I hope it will be the first step toward shared prosperity for the two countries."