MANILA, PHILIPPINES (3 May 2018) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Republic of Korea today signed two agreements that will enhance joint efforts to provide additional financing and technical assistance to ADB’s developing member countries.
ADB President Mr. Takehiko Nakao and Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Mr. Dong Yeon Kim signed the agreements during ADB's 51st Annual Meeting in Manila. Mr. Kim is Governor for the Republic of Korea in ADB.
The first document signed is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand Korea’s cofinancing support for ADB projects in Asia and the Pacific. Under the MOU, Korea will provide $650 million of concessional loans through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund in the next 3 years to cofinance ADB projects and programs. The MOU renews the cofinancing partnership between Korea and ADB, which started in 1993.
“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 Mr. Nakao. “I am hopeful that we can also scale up knowledge collaboration and promote the use of high-level technology to make our investments in these areas much more effective.”
The second document signed by Mr. Nakao and Mr. Kim is the cooperation agreement on the Korea-AP (Korea-Asia and Pacific) 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 Mr. Kim.
Since joining ADB in 1966, the Republic of Korea has contributed $7.62 billion in capital subscription and contributed and committed $701.42 million to Special Funds. It has also provided $1.6 billion in loan cofinancing for 17 ADB projects in the areas of skills development, railway, power generation and transmission, urban and rural development, and regional cooperation.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in cofinancing.
