President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to have a series of meetings with leaders of 10 African nations Monday to discuss ways to expand cooperation on the eve of the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit, the presidential office said.

Yoon will hold back-to-back meetings with leaders from Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Togo, Rwanda, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde at the presidential office in Seoul.

The leaders were in South Korea to attend the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, which will bring together delegations from 48 African countries, including the leaders of 25 of them.

Yoon has held separate meetings with the leaders from Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Ethiopia, who were on state visits to the nation.

Following Monday's talks, Yoon plans to host a welcoming dinner with the delegations from the participating countries.

The main session of the summit will be held on the first day, followed by a business summit on the second day.

In an interview with AFP published Sunday, Yoon said he hopes to lay the foundation for comprehensive cooperation with African nations, including the exchange of information related to critical minerals, technological collaboration and joint exploration. (Yonhap)