The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced
that it has signed two agreements with the Republic of Korea to enhance joint
efforts to provide additional financing and technical assistance to ADB’s
developing member countries.
The two agreements were signed by the ADB President Mr
Takehiko Nakao and Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and
Finance Mr Dong Yeon Kim, at the ADB's 51st Annual Meeting in
Manila.
Since joining ADB in 1966, the Republic of Korea has
contributed US$7.62 billion in capital subscription and contributed and
committed US$701.42 million to Special Funds. It has also provided US1$1.6
billion in loan co-financing for 17 ADB projects in the areas of skills
development, railway, power generation and transmission, urban and rural
development, and regional cooperation.
The first memorandum of understanding (MOU) is to expand
Korea’s co-financing support for ADB projects in Asia and the Pacific. The MOU
renews the co-financing partnership between Korea and ADB, which started in
1993.
Under the MOU, Korea will provide US$650 million of
concessional loans through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund in the
next 3 years to co-finance ADB projects and programs.
“The MOU will pave the way for ADB and the Republic of Korea
to jointly make a more profound impact on the ground in the priority areas of
transport, energy, environment, health, public governance, education, and
information and communication technology (ICT),” said ADB President Mr
Nakao.
The second agreement signed is the cooperation agreement on the
Korea-Asia and Pacific (Korea-AP) Tech Corp Program. Under this new program,
qualified young experts from various sectors in Korea will contribute to
technical capacity building in ADB’s developing member countries based on their
needs. ADB will help identify areas where support may be needed by countries in
such areas as ICT and clean energy.
“We believe that this program, through
enhancement of personnel and technical exchange, will make a significant
contribution to the developing countries in the region to cope with the
challenges we are facing, such as the 4th Industrial
Revolution,” said Deputy Prime Minister Kim. Deputy Prime Minister Kim is also
the Governor for the Republic of Korea in ADB.
