In the coming weeks, President Park Geun-hye will have to allot much of her time to preparing for her China visit in late June, which is to follow her U.S. trip early this month. Between her crucial talks with the U.S. and Chinese leaders on how to resolve nuclear threats from North Korea, Park will invite two African heads of state to Seoul for her first summits at home since taking office in February.

She will meet Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday, followed by talks with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Tuesday next week. The agenda on their summits will include trade, investment, resource exploration and a rural development program modeled after the “Saemaeul,” or New Village Movement initiated by Park’s father, then President Park Chung-hee, in the 1970s.

Revealing her plans for hosting the African leaders during Monday’s meeting with her senior secretaries, Park emphasized the need to promote understanding and cooperation with Africa and other less well-off parts of the world. She earlier called on Korean companies to be more active in advancing into African markets, citing the cases of their Chinese and Indian competitors.

Reflecting Park’s emphasis, the Foreign Ministry launched a private network named the “Friends of Africa” on Monday to publicize the importance of cooperation with the continent regarded as the last growth engine of the global economy.

In recent years, Korea has stepped up efforts to boost ties with African nations. It is still due and welcome that Park is vowing to work toward further bolstering cooperation with Africa.

Data from international and regional agencies show that Africa is transforming from a region plagued by colonial legacies, civil wars and autocracy to a continent full of hope for the future. Africa still remains the poorest continent, with more than half the people in the sub-Saharan nations living on less than $1.25 a day.

But it has more than enough potential to get out of poverty when its resources and natural conditions are fully developed and put to proper use, coupled with the training of its workforce. Korea may be best positioned to extend necessary assistance by sharing its own development experience with African countries.

Hundreds of African government officials and business leaders gathered in Seoul last October to discuss a broad range of collaboration with their Korean counterparts during the Korea-Africa Cooperation Week under the theme of “sharing today, shining tomorrow.” Park will have achieved a meaningful accomplishment if she consolidates the foundation for turning the catchphrase into reality during her five-year term in office.