Vice Minister of Economy and Finance: "Responding to Developing Countries' Infrastructure Demand with the Economic Development Cooperation Fund"

EDCF Advisory Meeting Held... "Operational Method Needs Reform"

Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks at the Emergency Economic Vice Ministers' Meeting and Price-Related Vice Ministers' Meeting held on the 22nd at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The government announced on the 25th that it will establish a mid- to long-term operational direction for the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to actively respond to the large-scale infrastructure demands of developing countries.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance held the first EDCF Advisory Committee meeting at the Government Seoul Office, chaired by First Vice Minister Kim Byung-hwan, and made this announcement.

As the annual operational scale of the EDCF has grown to exceed 2 trillion won and the international development cooperation environment has rapidly changed, the government established the advisory committee this year to gather diverse opinions.

At the meeting, Vice Minister Kim stated that the scale of EDCF operations must be reorganized in accordance with recent environmental changes. He emphasized the need to respond to the large-scale infrastructure demands of developing countries and the development needs of the private sector, improve the quality of projects, and strengthen synergy with foreign strategy.

Experts attending the meeting mentioned expanding support to address climate change issues, shortening the time required for EDCF execution, and enhancing linkage between concessional and non-concessional official development assistance (ODA) projects.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to establish key policies such as the "2024?2026 EDCF Mid- to Long-term Operational Direction" and have them approved by the Fund Management Committee.