Seoul, May 27 (IANS) South Korea will work to strengthen cooperation with the World Bank as part of efforts to help developing nations advance their agriculture and food technologies, Seoul’s finance ministry said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance held an annual meeting with officials from the World Bank in the southeastern port city of Busan to evaluate their collaboration projects under the Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility (KWPF) and discuss bilateral cooperation in future development assistance programs, according to ministry officials.

The KWPF is the biggest trust fund created by South Korea within the World Bank to provide assistance to developing countries in various sectors, from digital, health, agriculture and energy to job creation and innovation, reports Yonhap news agency.

Since its establishment in 2013, the KWPF has provided a combined $46.8 billion in support to 99 nations.

At this year’s meeting, the finance ministry and the World Bank assessed their joint projects aimed at transferring South Korea’s technologies in digital and eco-friendly agriculture sectors to Tanzania, Kenya and five other countries, and discussed ways to expand their partnership.

Meanwhile, Acting President Lee Ju-ho said on Tuesday the government will provide unsparing support to the aerospace industry.

“The government will provide unsparing support to the bids investing in the future of the Republic of Korea’s aerospace sector, with the Korea AeroSpace Administration at its centre,” he said.

“We will actively foster industries into aerospace clusters and lead new global standards in aerospace by developing core leading technologies, such as reusable launch vehicles and ultra high-definition satellites,” he added.

Aerospace Day was established on May 27 last year to mark the launch of KASA. Since last year, the education ministry has been supporting graduate-level aerospace students under a special programme.

“Fostering aerospace talents is a key task that will determine our nation’s technological sovereignty and future competitiveness,” Lee said.

–IANS

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