Government Contributes $4.5 Million to European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Climate Fund

Bang Ki-seon, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is taking a commemorative photo after the EBRD Trust Fund signing ceremony held at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, UK, on the 9th (local time).

The government has newly contributed $4.5 million to the Climate Action Partnership Special Fund (HIPCA), a multilateral fund of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 11th that First Vice Minister Bang Gi-seon met with Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President of Policy and Partnerships, in London, UK, on the 9th (local time) and signed the contribution to the HIPCA fund.

The EBRD is an international organization established to support the democratization and transition to a market economy system of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European communist countries.

In November 2021, HIPCA was launched to support sustainable growth, including climate and environmental sectors such as green and low-carbon in the beneficiary countries, as well as gender balance and inclusive growth.

Participating countries can open dedicated accounts within the fund and specify the support methods (grants, concessional loans, equity investments, guarantees, etc.), sectors, and regions.

Taking this meeting as an opportunity, the government additionally contributed $2 million and $1 million to the EBRD’s Korea Technical Assistance Cooperation Fund (KTACF) and Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (SIF), respectively.

Furthermore, Vice Minister Bang emphasized during the meeting with Vice President Bowman that Korea will actively participate in the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine, referring to Korea’s announcement in February of a financial support plan totaling $130 million for Ukraine.

He also proposed holding a special session explaining EBRD’s Ukraine projects at the 'Multilateral Development Bank Project Plaza' scheduled for the second half of this year for Korean companies.

Vice Minister Bang said, "This fund contribution signifies Korea’s active participation in achieving EBRD’s green economic transition goals." He also suggested jointly exploring ways for Korea to participate in the development finance institution consortium related to the operation of the Ukraine Investment Platform, launched in May by the EBRD and eight development finance institutions from the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

Meanwhile, on the same day in London, Vice Minister Bang met with Hani Kablawi, Head of International at BNY Mellon, and Hanek Smits, CEO of the Investment Division, to discuss global economic trends and introduced Korea’s plans to improve the structure of its foreign exchange market.

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