The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) released its evaluation of Korea’s development aid program on January 30. This is the first time that Korea has received an official review since joining the DAC in 2010.

The review stated that Korea is a growing influence in the field of development cooperation, having continued to boost the size of its development aid program while seeking to reinforce international cooperation in development. Korea has expanded its official development assistance (ODA) threefold within a short period, from 2006 to 2011. The evaluation recommended that the government manage this steep increase carefully to make its aid effective, and that Korea’s aid legislation and forward planning should be more transparent.

Meanwhile, the OECD held the Annual Meeting of the Members of the Council on Development on January 17, where it launched the Knowledge Sharing Alliance, an initiative that enables the OECD to form a partnership with leading knowledge sharing nations such as Korea and Germany and share development experience with developing countries. The official launching of the Knowledge Sharing Alliance is significant in that it establishes Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) as a global leading model for development cooperation.

The KSP is Korea’s main consultation program, which was started by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) in 2004. The KSP has provided around 450 consultations to 39 developing countries as of 2012, and has pursued joint consultation projects with international organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.

* Source : Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Korea Development Institute, Economic Bulletin Vol.35 No.2 (February 2013).
Website: http://english.mosf.go.kr