Kim Yong-beom, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, "Significantly Expanding ODA in Health and Medical Fields"

'Post-Corona International Cooperation Measures Expert Meeting'

Kim Yong-beom, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance. (File photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Kim Yong-beom, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, announced on the 28th, "We intend to significantly expand official development assistance (ODA) in the health and medical sectors."

On this day, Vice Minister Kim held the 'Post-Corona International Cooperation Measures Expert Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office and said, "The government will ensure that Korea's response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is established as an international success story."

First, the government plans to urgently provide more than 400 million dollars within the year from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), which corresponds to concessional aid funds for developing countries, to be used for expanding medical equipment in developing countries such as Mongolia, Tanzania, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Additionally, support for the health sector from trust funds contributed and endowed by Korea to international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank will be expanded up to 10 million dollars, five times the usual level.

The government also decided to actively support the activation of private sector overseas expansion. Vice Minister Kim stated, "We will swiftly remove constraints on overseas expansion and boldly support areas where government assistance is needed to create and spread success stories," adding, "In particular, we will prioritize negotiations in the health and medical sectors within economic cooperation channels with new northern countries such as Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan."

Furthermore, the government plans to create new added value in the health and quarantine sectors by combining Korea's outstanding information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. Through joint research with international organizations and comprehensive manual development, a post-corona strategy for Korean medical care will also be prepared. Vice Minister Kim said, "We expect to respond more systematically to international requests for sharing K-quarantine experiences through the recently launched International Quarantine Cooperation Task Force (TF)," and added, "We are establishing an 'Economic and Industrial Post-Corona Preparation TF' under the Ministry of Economy and Finance to prepare comprehensive measures in economic fields such as industry and employment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.