By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
A top official of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Seoul called on Korea to raise its contribution to global development and to do it through the UNDP.
``We hope that with Korea's rich experience in development in economy and many other areas, Korea would contribute more and play a stronger role in global development,'' Zhe Yang, representative of the UNDP Korea, said in an interview with The Korea Times Thursday.
Yang said there's no doubt about the fact that it is an obligation for a developed country to do more in assisting less developed countries and civil societies. ``Korea, now as an economic power, isn't an exception.''
He welcomed that the amount of official development aid (ODA) from Korea is gradually increasing, yet insufficient.
Korea is a new country as an ODA donor. Korea was on the ODA recipient list up until the late 1990s. Since entering the new millennium, Korea has become a donor.
According to the Organization for Economic cooperation and Development (OECD), Korean ODA provision was $264 million in 2001. It increased to $672 million last year, 0.07 percent of the gross national income (GNI). It is still far below the major donors whose average donation last year accounted for 0.3 percent of GNI, he said.
Until 2015, Korea aims to increase the proportion to 0.25 percent, which would make the amount hover over $3 billion.
``That is a big jump, and I hope Korea would use that additional money for real development,'' Yang said, encouraging Korea to donate it through the UNDP.
``If you do it multilaterally, it would be more effective. For example, environment, health, regional conflicts, if you contribute it directly, you can't resolve it. But you can through organizations," he said.
Foreign aid is distributed via two channels: directly to the recipient country as called bilateral donation and indirectly through international organizations as multilateral donation.
The UNDP commits to eight development goals called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were signed by 189 U.N. member states during the Millennium Summit in 2000.
Eight goals are eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promotion of gender equality; reduction on child mortality; improvement in maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development. And specific targets are laid out to be achieved by the year 2015.
"The UNDP has been working in this area for nearly 50 years. We have the global network, the largest, and we know how to provide multilateral aid. If the UNDP worked with Korea, we can speed up the process,'' he said.
Majority of Korean foreign aid is channeled through bilateral donation.
Bilateral aid is necessary at times, yet the way Korea practices bilateral ODA has weaknesses in efficiency, Yang said, referring to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) report published earlier this year that criticized Korea's ODA program for its inefficiency.
``If you look at the Korean situation, you have two main ministries providing ODA ― foreign ministry and finance ministry ― and the two main implementing agencies ― Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). If you looked at their programs, types of assistance and list of countries, they are similar. There is no reason they can't work together. But cooperation isn't much,'' he continued.
He said it is important to have coordination in implementation level.
Yang suggested the creation of a mechanism to strengthen communication and implementation process, including monitoring.
Major donors in the world have a long record of offering assistances through multilateral channel, especially through the UNDP as the largest development organization, he said. ``That's a kind of trend.''
Big donors give nearly 25-30 percent of ODA multilaterally, and Korea with an ambition to join the OECD DAC is recommended to boost the percentage. So far, Korean contribution through UNDP has been no more than $4 million.
Plus, ``if you put too many conditions, in other words, you expect any economical return from the recipient country, that's not the international norm. And this is another requirement if you'd like to join the OECD DAC,'' he said.
Korea pushes the so-called tied assistance ― nearly 95 percent of ODA ― compelling recipients to only buy Korean products.
He also stressed education as a tool for making people be mindful of foreign aid and its significance. He recalled encounters with Koreans, sometimes parliamentary members, who questioned him about the purpose of ODA.
``Some said there are still many people in Korea who need help. Some asked what Korea could get in return,'' Yang said. However, billions of people in Africa and Asia live on less than one or two dollars a day. Koreans are still far better off than them.''