(2nd LD) Seoul to double contribution to cooperative fund with Pacific Islands

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SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it plans to double its contribution to a cooperation fund with Pacific Island countries (PICs) to US$1 million next year in a bid to help them cope with development gaps and climate change.

Seoul has provided $500,000 to the Korea-Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Cooperation Fund that was set up in 2008 in an effort to enhance partnerships with 14 island countries.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se announced the pledge at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Pacific Island countries.

"This meeting provides both Korea and the PICs an excellent opportunity to broaden our diplomatic horizons," Yun said in his opening remarks.

The talks, the second of their kind, covered development cooperation, climate change and maritime issues, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Seoul has said that the meeting will help promote its push for mini-lateral diplomacy as well as enhance cooperation in the areas of fisheries and maritime resources development.

The Pacific Islands consist of 12 nations and two of New Zealand's dominions, the Cook Islands and Niue. They are grouped into the three areas of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia in terms of geography and culture.

Yun introduced Seoul's efforts to increase official development assistance (ODA) as the first country in the world that has gone from being an aid recipient to a donor country.

"We have continued to raise our aid budget. In this regard, I'm pleased to announce our plans to double contributions to the Korea-Pacific Islands Forum Cooperation Fund starting next year."

At a time when climate change poses one of the gravest threats to the Pacific Islands, Yun said that South Korea is also committed to working on such daunting tasks through United Nations mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund.

Yun said that the Monday talks will help collect insights, wisdom and determination to strengthen collaboration between Seoul and the PICs and to build an inclusive and enduring Pacific partnership.

Following the meeting, a joint statement showed that South Korea and the PICs "agreed to widen and deepen substantial cooperation in areas of mutual interest."

They plan to continue to hold the foreign ministers' meeting every three years and to continue holding meetings with senior officials in an effort to deepen their cooperation, it added.

Seoul expressed its willingness to beef up development cooperation with them, including by expanding the scale of ODA for the sustainable development of the PICs.

In addition, they agreed that Seoul and the PICs will continue to explore joint projects in renewable energy and other maritime and fishery areas.

On the sidelines of the talks, Yun plans to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterparts from Fiji and the Cook Islands, respectively, on Tuesday, the ministry said.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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