HA NOI, VIET NAM - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the Republic of Korea today signed an agreement to extend and expand Korea's support for ADB development projects in Asia and the Pacific.
ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and Korea Minister of Strategy and Finance Jeung-Hyun Yoon signed the agreement during ADB's Annual Meeting here."This agreement shows Korea's firm commitment to helping some of the poorer nations in Asia and the Pacific to reach the high levels of development seen in Korea," said Mr. Kuroda. "Projects and programs that we have jointly financed in the past have proved successful and we expect future projects to be at least equally so."
Under the agreement, Korea will provide $550 million through its Economic Cooperation Development Fund over three years starting today to help cofinance ADB projects and programs. Key areas of focus for the cofinancing include renewable energy, water, sustainable transport, education, finance, and governance reform. The funding from Korea can be used to fund government projects and programs in any of ADB's 44 developing member countries.
Officials from ADB and Korea will meet at least once a year to identify potential cofinancing opportunities, review existing projects and programs, and to discuss areas of future collaboration.
The latest memorandum of understanding extends and expands a previous $500 million, three-year agreement that expired at the end of 2010.