Leading remarks by H.E. KIM Jina

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea

G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting

Session on Building a more efficient financial architecture

and leveraging sustainable funding to support partners’

sovereignty and resilience

(April 30, 2026)

Let me begin by thanking the French Presidency for the invitation and for convening this important meeting.

We commend G7 leadership in advancing a more coordinated and forward-looking approach.

Among the 5 principles for DRM success, let me share some thoughts about country-led programs and the significance of coordination to support these efforts

As we already discussed mobilizing all forms of development finance is important.

Because no single source of financing will meet the scale of current challenges.

However, as the number of resources and actors expands,

we must guard against increasing complexity and fragmentation in the development cooperation architecture.

Without stronger coordination,

fragmentation risks undermining effectiveness.

In practice, however, achieving coordination is not straightforward.

The issue of fragmentation has been at the center of development cooperation discussions and partner harmonization was established as a core principle.

However, over the past two decades, this concept has proven difficult to implement for some reasons.

Differences in domestic approval procedure, budget cycles, as well as audit and accounting standards have complicated joint project design and limited the use of pooled funding.

There are also significant technical barriers which creates a fundamental limitation in implementing coordinated and country-led approaches.

These constraints are not merely operational details;

they directly affect the feasibility of harmonized and country-led implementation.

Development cooperation should remain context-specific

and anchored in national systems.

Improved coordination across actors, instruments, and interventions is critical to ensure coherence.

To achieve this, we believe enhancing “harmonization among development partners” is essential.

Clear division of labor,

effective use of comparative advantages,

and stronger coherence across financing and programs will improve overall impact.

This way, we can reinforce quality, alignment, and a strong focus on partner countries’ priorities,

while promoting partnerships

that support sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development.

Thank you.  /END/