1. To celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Republic of Korea’s membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will organize a “Development Cooperation Week” under the theme “Beautiful miracle, Dream for a better world” from November 23 to 27 and hold various events on development cooperation.

2. On November 25, the Foreign Ministry will hold the “Commemorating Ceremony of the 2020 development cooperation day and High-Level Talk Concert” where experts from various sectors including the government, aid agencies, civil society, and academia will be invited to discuss the meaning of the 10^th anniversary of the DAC membership looking to the ROK’s development cooperation under the theme “The Past 10 Years and the future policy direction of the Next Decade of the ROK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).”

o The ceremony will feature congratulatory messages from Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha, Chair of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Song Younggil, and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

3. Other events to be held include the “Expert Meeting on the Transformation of the ROK’s Development Cooperation” co-organized by the Foreign Ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Seoul Policy Centre  on November 23, “the third Open Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Forum” on November 24, the “Special Lecture on Global Citizenship” offered by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for youth on November 26, and the “Korea Association of International Development and Cooperation’s Annual Winter Conference” on November 27. These events will enable various stakeholders at home and abroad to share opinions.

4. For the past 10 years, the ROK government, as a responsible member of the international community and a donor, has made efforts to increase the volume and effectiveness of its ODA in order to contribute to the poverty reduction and sustainable development of the international community.

o The ROK’s ODA has more than doubled since its accession to the DAC. (from US$1.17 billion in 2010 to US$2.52 billion in 2019)

o In 2010, the ROK enacted the Framework Act on International Development Cooperation and its Enforcement Decree, thereby defining the basic principle and objectives of the ROK’s development cooperation and establishing legal and institutional foundations for more systematic and integrated ODA implementation system.

o The ROK has actively contributed to setting the global development cooperation agenda, including launching the Development Working Group (DWG) on the occasion of the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010 and hosting the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan in 2011.

o The ROK has led the international community’s discussions on sustainable development by serving as chair of major UN organizations, including the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (July 2015-July 2016), the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) (2017), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)/United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Board (2019).

o The ROK has pursued ODA aligning to its foreign policy, such as the New Southern ODA Strategy.

o In response to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, the ROK has expanded humanitarian assistance and health cooperation for disease prevention and control, shared its experiences in responding to COVID-19, and joined the international solidarity to provide vaccines to developing countries.

5. Based on the experience of development of the ROK, the government will continue contributions to help the international community achieve sustainable recovery and build a better world where no one is left behind.

o To this end, the ROK will make continued efforts to scale up its ODA to the level commensurate with its international standing, pursue people-centered development cooperation, and contribute to addressing key global challenges.