1. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon presided over a meeting of the Committee for International Development Cooperation at the Government Complex Seoul on June 30. At the first such meeting since the launch of the new government in the Republic of Korea, relevant Ministers and civilian members of the Committee discussed and finalized a comprehensive plan for international development cooperation for the year 2018.

[Comprehensive plan for international development cooperation for the year 2018]

2. The new ROK government put forward its plan to implement its official development assistance (ODA) policy in an effective and transparent manner and in the spirit of togetherness.

° To this end, the Committee decided to seek public trust on its ODA policy and to contribute to the efforts of developing countries to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

3. First, the government set its principle for resource allocation, such as for achieving the internationally shared SDGs, and will enhance connectivity among projects in a bid to improve aid effectiveness.

° To date, the ROK has been criticized for implementing its ODA policy only to meet internationally shared values and demands and for insufficient connectivity among projects conducted by various agencies.

- The government, having set the international SDGs and the recipient needs-based Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) as its bases for resource allocation, will enhance its strategy to support a systematic implementation of ODA projects.

- The government will reorganize some of the existing projects that have been criticized for their failure to meet the aforementioned conditions.

- In a bid to enhance the connectivity among the ODA projects, the government will explore as needed ways to conduct the projects in conjunction with one another and will earmark with priority budget for such projects.

4. Second, the government will increasingly make relevant information available to the public and inspect project sites in an effort for the ROK people and recipient countries to see that the projects are conducted transparently and responsibly.

° To date, it has been pointed out that despite its growing ODA volume, the ROK has had a poor control mechanism in place for its overseas projects.

- The government will have a larger number of outside experts take part in ODA projects throughout their stages -- planning (seeking out new projects), start (bidding, contracting), execution (monitoring) and reviewing the outcome (evaluation) -- and release their outcomes to the public in an effort to dramatically improve their transparency.

- The ROK’s ODA statistical system (set up at stats.odakorea.go.kr) will be reorganized to make it more user-friendly. In addition, more information on ongoing projects will be disclosed in accordance with the international standards set by the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).

5. Third, the government will seek to continuously increase its ODA in communication and cooperation with other ODA actors, including the private sector, other donor countries and relevant international organizations.

° To date, the ROK’s ODA affairs have been handled mainly by the government, failing to create synergistic effects from capabilities and resources of the private sector and to develop human resources in the ODA field.

- The government decided to continuously increase private-public cooperation projects with civic groups, academia and enterprises, and to help boost joint investment with the private sector and strengthen civil society’s capability.

- In addition, the government will support bids of youth enterprises to build presence in the field of development cooperation and will conduct a larger number of programs for human resources development. By doing so, it will promote expertise in the field and help such experts find jobs.

6. The proposed ODA volume for the year 2018 amounts to 3.1895 trillion won, up 553.6 billion won from the year before, which will be channeled into 1,372 projects of 43 agencies.

° The comprehensive plan for international development cooperation for the year 2018 will be finalized at the meeting of the Committee for International Development Cooperation in late December after the government set a budget plan and the National Assembly reviews it.

[Evaluation of international development cooperation in 2016]

7. The government reviewed the outcome of a comprehensive evaluation of the ODA projects conducted in 2016 -- the internal evaluations of 78 projects implemented by 32 agencies; the evaluations of the ROK’s ODA model, the work to seek out new projects and the ODA procurement system; and meta-evaluations.

° As discussed at the meeting, the government will increase efforts to secure budget at the project-planning stage; to improve the quality of internal evaluations; and to sincerely make improvements considered necessary as a result of evaluations.

[Strategies for assisting countries in need]

8. The government mapped out strategies for enhancing the effectiveness of aid to countries in most poor conditions caused by disputes, disasters and poverty.

9. “The strategies for assisting countries in need” call for rendering assistance in a way that meets specific needs of countries concerned; offering more inclusive assistance; and employing effective means of assistance in order to improve aid effectiveness.

° The government, by stepping up interagency cooperation; tightening global partnership for countries in need; and enhancing connectivity between humanitarian assistance and development cooperation, will seek to contribute to the efforts of the countries concerned to achieve SDGs.


* unofficial translation