This Year’s Official Development Assistance 4.8 Trillion Won, Up 21% from Last Year

Korean Prime Minister: "Yoon Administration Will Propel Korea to Top 10 ODA Countries Worldwide Within Its Term"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The government has finalized the scale of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects at 4.7771 trillion won, an increase of 838.8 billion won (21.3%) compared to last year. The plan is to strengthen cooperation focusing on climate, food, health, digital, and humanitarian support sectors to achieve the status of a 'global pivotal country.'

On the 9th, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held the 44th International Development Cooperation Committee meeting at the Government Seoul Office to review and approve this plan.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, South Korea will implement ODA projects targeting a total of 92 recipient countries and 56 international organizations. In accordance with the '3rd Basic Plan for International Development Cooperation,' support will focus mainly on Asia (38.5%) and Africa (19.4%).

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is presiding over the Ministerial Meeting on State Affairs held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

By sector, transportation (13.1%), health (12.9%), and humanitarian support (11.0%) rank highest. In particular, humanitarian assistance will be significantly increased to respond to global crises such as conflicts, climate change, infectious diseases, and food security.

The International Development Cooperation Committee also reviewed and approved the 'Africa Development Cooperation Strategy' as one of the regional and sectoral strategies. This strategy involves tailored support for African countries at different stages of development.

For relatively higher-income North African countries, support will focus on energy and digital sectors, while for the least developed countries in East Africa facing severe climate crises, emphasis will be placed on food, agriculture, and climate response sectors.

Furthermore, the government plans to more than double the scale of support to Africa from 540 billion won in 2019 to over 1.08 trillion won by 2030. According to the plan, Africa's ODA will increase to more than 1.08 trillion won by 2030.

Cooperation strategies with five countries?Vietnam, Laos, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda?where recent political changes have occurred or new national development strategies have been established, have been partially revised. In particular, in Laos, the previously combined support for 'water management' and 'health and sanitation' sectors will now be implemented separately.

Prime Minister Han stated, "This year's annual increase in Korea's ODA scale is the largest increase rate in the past 10 years," adding, "It reflects a firm determination to leap into the world's top 10 ODA countries during President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration."

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