On October 9, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Yong Hwan Kim, “ Korea Eximbank”) held the 'Global Infrastructure Development Cooperation Forum' at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul.
The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and organized by the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

The forum was an occasion to discuss infrastructure investments designed to drive growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. It was attended by a total of 150 representatives from Korean and overseas institutions involved in PPPs*, including Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA), International Constructors Association of Korea, SK Engineering & Construction, as well as government officials from major developing countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

* Public-Private Partnership(PPP): a government service venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and private sector companies.

Chairman Yong Hwan Kim of Korea Eximbank commented, "The public-private cooperation takes on added significance in light of the need to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of infrastructure development projects in developing countries. I hope this forum will take us to a win-win future where Korean companies can expand overseas while developing countries achieve infrastructure development and economic growth."

The forum began with Chairman Kim's opening remarks, followed by a congratulatory message by Jae Yun Shin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the keynote address delivered by Jose Luis Irigoyen, World Bank Director for Transport, Water, Information and Communication Technologies.

The plenary session, divided into 3 parts, generated lively debates among speakers and participants about public-private partnership ideas and the role of development finance institutions in fostering economic growth in developing countries.

Professor Hyeok Jung of the Korea Development Institute stressed, "Development cooperation has to go beyond unilateral assistance into a paradigm of bilateral assistance, where donor and recipient countries mutually contribute to each other's development."

Korea Eximbank Researcher Jun Ho Maeng noted, "The Bank will work to facilitate PPPs by financing infrastructure-related public expenditures through EDCF loans and by granting export credit to profitable sectors such as the operation of facilities."