SEOUL– South Korea said Wednesday it plans to more than double the ceiling on the country’s low-interest rate loans to Indonesia over the next five years in a bid to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Under the agreement between the two nations, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will be expanded to US$1.5 billion in 2022-2026 from the existing $600 million set aside for 2016-2021, according to Seoul’s finance ministry.
South Korea launched the EDCF program in 1987 in an effort to support economic and social infrastructure projects in developing countries.
The ministry said Indonesia is positioned as one of the key countries in terms of Korea’s signature New Southern Policy, and the two countries have deepened cooperation in the green energy, digital and health care sectors.
The government has also picked 22 potential infrastructure projects in Indonesia for its EDCF provision in an effort to help more Korean firms make inroads into the Southeast Asian country.
Source: Yonhap News Agency