SKorea agrees to double aid to Africa
SKOrEA: South Korea on Tuesday agreed to double its development aid
to Africa in the next three years to help the continent fight poverty
and grow sustainably, Seoul officials said. South Korea’s overseas
development assistance to Africa will increase two-fold by 2012 from
last year’s 107 million dollars, they said.
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Fact box
* To help the continent fight poverty
* Assistance to Africa will increase
two-fold by 2012 |
The accord was announced when South Korea and the 15-state African
Union launched a second forum here to discuss economic cooperation and
environment, with more than 100 top African officials attending. The
foreign ministers of South Korea and African Union states signed the
agreement on the sidelines of the forum, according to a joint statement.
“We agree to strengthen our partnership in order to support Africa in
eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development as well as to
promote the prosperity of African countries and Korea,” the statement
said. The planned aid, largely in the form of credit or grant, will be
allocated to a wide range of areas, including rural development,
vocational training and information communication technology assistance,
it said.
It will also help African Union states initiate feasibility studies
on environmental projects and explore “green business” models like
eco-tourism.
Seoul, Tuesday, AFP
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