Ministry of Economy and Finance: "Need to Explore New Development Cooperation Measures... Activate Private Sector Participation"

Ministry of Economy and Finance Hosts 'Global Development Finance Conference'

Bang Gi-seon, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 15th that it held the 'Global Development Finance Conference' at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul in the afternoon.

Attendees included Bang Gi-seon, 1st Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, Heo Kyung-wook, former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Jema Sakristan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Invest), among other domestic figures.

In his opening remarks, Vice Minister Bang emphasized the need to revitalize development finance as part of new development cooperation measures to support the 'advanced country-type international development cooperation,' one of the new government's national tasks.

He stated, "In the process of pursuing recent global supply chain restructuring, regional bloc formation, and value alliances, development cooperation is also being strategically utilized under complex objectives," adding, "We must seek new development cooperation measures to avoid being left out of the dynamic international development ecosystem."

He also announced that the government will support activating private sector participation, leading green and digital transitions in developing countries, and discovering external economic and security strategic projects.

On the same day, Kim Kyung-hee, Director of the Development Finance Bureau at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, gave a presentation titled 'The Future of Korea's Development Finance,' explaining plans to focus on expanding development finance capabilities, strengthening international cooperation, and raising awareness to revitalize development finance in the future.

Additionally, Professor Jung Hyuk of Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies emphasized the need to expand development finance not just to build the private sector but to create new markets, introducing various cases of overseas development finance institutions (DFIs).

Peter Timmi, Director of Business Innovation and Syndication at the German Development Bank (DEG), shared DEG's over 60 years of experience in private sector development, and Jema Sakristan, CIO, introduced the role of IDB Invest in enhancing project effectiveness and expanding private participation with a focus on climate finance in the Latin American region.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to concretize measures to expand the role of development finance to strengthen development cooperation competitiveness and link with external economic strategies by reflecting the policy recommendations derived from this event.

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