S. Korea to offer US$5 mln to developing nations fighting coronavirus

SEJONG, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it will offer US$5.15 million via the World Bank to six developing nations combating the coronavirus pandemic.

The fund will be provided through the Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility, the ministry said in a statement.

The fund is expected to help developing nations improve their digital infrastructure to better cope with the virus outbreak and boost productivity in their farm industry, the ministry said.

Last month, the ministry approved $75.5 million in health care aid for 13 nations to better combat the pandemic.

The approval is part of the nation's plans to provide more than $400 million in loans and grants to developing nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus.

Globally, more than 17 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus and more than 670,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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