S. Korea provides US$81.37 mln to six int'l financial bodies

SEJONG, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea provided a combined US$81.37 million to 10 trust funds created by six international financial organizations last year in a bid to expand its presence on the world stage, the financial ministry said Tuesday.

The organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asia Development Bank (ADB), are carrying out 98 projects worth $50 million based on South Korea's contributions, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

South Korea participates in four trust funds run by the World Bank to support health and agricultural development in Asia and Africa, with its donations amounting $58.17 million, ranking 22nd among other member countries.

"We are expanding contributions to such trust funds as part of our efforts to strengthen our voice and negotiation power within the international financial organizations," said the ministry.

The country has gone from being a recipient to a donor of international aid, with its official development assistance (ODA) reaching $1.9 billion in 2014, the 16th largest amount among the Organization for Economic, Cooperation and Development (OECD) members.

brk@yna.co.kr
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