S. Korea to host ODA forum before joining OECD aid committee

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it will host an international
conference on official development assistance (ODA) this week as it hopes to join
a related OECD committee later this month.
Under the theme, "The Changing International Development Cooperation Environment
and New Global Partnership for Development Cooperation," the third ODA forum to
be held on Wednesday in Seoul will bring together scores of government officials
and experts from around the world including Johannes Linn, director of the
Wolfensohn Center for Development and Tallat Abdel-Melek, co-chair of the OECD
Development Assistance Committee's (DAC) working party on aid effectiveness, the
foreign ministry said.
South Korea has applied for DAC membership, and the committee will decide whether
to accept Seoul's request in a meeting on Nov. 25. The committee has 23 members,
including the European Commission, and is the only OECD committee of which South
Korea is not yet a member.
Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo plans to deliver a keynote speech at the
upcoming annual forum.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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