The top diplomats of South Korea and Ethiopia held consultations to discuss the strengthening of development cooperation in education, public health and infrastructure, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

In the meeting in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Ethiopian counterpart, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, agreed on the need to further strengthen cooperation in these areas and expand economic ties through trade and investment.

To this end, Park proposed that the two sides move swiftly toward sealing a bilateral investment treaty and a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework.

According to the ministry, Demeke agreed on the need to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, which are celebrating the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties this year, and pledged efforts to achieve this goal.

Park also spoke about South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo and stressed that the hosting of the event will serve as an opportunity to strengthen Seoul's ties with the African region.

Further, he requested that Ethiopia, which serves as a crucial gateway for Seoul's diplomacy in Africa, actively contribute to the success of the upcoming South Korea-Africa summit scheduled to be held next year. (Yonhap)