President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday began holding a series of bilateral summits with leaders from African nations visiting the country to attend this week's Korea-Africa Summit.

The South Korean president was scheduled to meet separately with leaders from ten countries, in the order of Lesotho, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Togo, Rwanda, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.

Yoon, who also held one-on-one meetings with the leaders from Tanzania and Ethiopia on Sunday, is set to host a welcome banquet on Monday evening for the visiting delegations.

In an interview with AFP released on Sunday, Yoon said Seoul hopes to lay the foundation for comprehensive cooperation during the multilateral summit, including the exchange of information related to critical minerals, technological collaboration and joint exploration.

The 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, bringing together representatives from 48 African nations, will open in Seoul and the Gyeonggi provincial city of Goyang on Tuesday.

The 2024 Korea-African Business Summit, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and organized by the Korea International Trade Association(KITA), will be held on Wednesday.