Korea increases contribution to IDB trust funds for past 10 yrs

Published : May 31, 2016 - 15:53 Updated : May 31, 2016 - 15:56

South Korea has contributed more than $100 million to trust funds operated by the Inter-America Development Bank for the past 10 years to help the region develop further, the finance minister said Tuesday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy joined the IDB in 2005 and has made contributions to three trust funds -- the Knowledge Partnership Fund for Technology and Innovation, the Korea Poverty Reduction Fund and the Public Capacity Building Korea Fund for Economic Development.

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)

The IDB is in charge of managing the funds in accordance with an agreement between the organization and the donor country.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said South Korea has donated $50 million each to the poverty reduction fund and the public capacity building fund for the past decade. It also plans to pay $40 million to the knowledge fund.

Through the Korea-created funds, the IDB has carried out a number of development projects to help Central and South American countries, including one to finance Uruguay's cadastral mapping project.

"South Korea's participation in the IDB funds has spread its experience and know-how to Latin American countries," the ministry said in a release. "It also has helped South Korean companies make their presence in the continent."

For the past 10 years, South Korean companies have won a total of $1 billion from IDB-related procurement deals, accounting for 2.4 percent of the region's $42.9 billion market over the cited period. (Yonhap)