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| First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki-sun gives a speech during the opening ceremony for the Project Plaza seminar, a program of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB's) annual meeting, at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Songdo International Business District, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Project Plaza seminar connects Korean businesses with overseas project leaders
By Yi Whan-woo
INCHEON ― Korea is capitalizing on the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to widen opportunities for its exporters in the post-pandemic era.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance, jointly with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, hosted the Project Plaza seminar, Wednesday, as a part of four events aimed at promoting local businesses and connecting them with the leaders of international projects, including the ADB.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), operating under the wings of the finance and trade ministries, respectively, also joined hands for the seminar.
The seminar will be followed by one-on-one consultations on overseas projects and a business briefing, both on Thursday.
The remaining event is the Korea Business Showcase, a four-day exhibition taking place through Friday in the lobby of Songdo Convensia, the venue of the ADB meeting in Incheon's Songdo International Business District.
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| First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki-sun, front row center, poses with Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) President and CEO Yu Jeong-yeol, front row left, Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) Chairman and President Yoon Hee-sung, front row right, and other dignitaries during the opening ceremony of the Project Plaza seminar at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Songdo International Business District, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance |
Project Plaza drew more than 100 representatives from project leaders in 24 countries and Korean enterprises in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector.
The projects range from smart infrastructure to city planning, road networks, reconstruction and power supply. They are sponsored by one of three parties ― the ADB, governments or public-private partnership (PPP) entities.
The seminar consisted of four sessions, with briefings from the project's leaders from Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey, plus Eximbank and the ADB.
In his opening speech, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki-sun said, "The cooperation between Korea and the ADB has evolved over time and it should change again in accordance with digitalization and green transition."
In particular, he said the demand for smart infrastructure is growing in the Asia-Pacific region and that Korea will enhance its collaboration with the ADB in relevant areas.
He said the country will use its advanced technology for smart cities, future mobility and information technology (IT), among others, to bolster its cooperative partnership with the ADB.
The vice minister reaffirmed Korea's pledge to expand its official development assistance (ODA) to the level of the world's top 10 donor countries in line with the Asia Pacific Project Preparation Facility (AP3F), the ADB's multi-donor trust fund which provides technical assistance to promote the PPP.
He said Korea-ADB cooperation should be enhanced on climate change and digitalization as well.
He accordingly welcomed the agreement reached on Wednesday for the establishment of the ADB-Korea Climate Technology Hub in Korea. The envisioned entity will be the ADB's first network to counter climate change.
Concerning digitalization, he noted that Korea agreed to contribute $100 million over the next six years to the ADB's e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund.
The fund was established between the two parties in 2006 to improve access to information and communications technology and facilitate knowledge sharing and partnerships.
"I expect Korea and the ADB to work closer in regional cooperation for a rebound in Asia," the vice minister said.
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