South Korea offers $167m in grants, loans to ASEAN
South Korea offers $167m in grants, loans to ASEAN
SINGAPORE (AFP): South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Saturday pledged US$150 million in loans and $17 million in grants to ASEAN countries in an effort to build closer ties.
Kim detailed the offer in talks with the leaders of the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, presidential spokesman Kim Key-Man said.
The $150 million will form an Economic Development Cooperation Fund to be used for long-term loans for projects in the information technology (IT), telecommunications, water and "social capital" sectors starting in 2001.
The $17 million will be for development grants to ASEAN countries, he added without elaborating.
South Korea also offered IT training for 1,000 workers within the ASEAN area and promised support for a vaccination program in the region.
In addition, Seoul is willing to support a program for repairing environmental damage in Southeast Asia and President Kim asked ASEAN members for their cooperation, his spokesman said without giving further details.
Kim Dae-Jung is further seeking more cultural, tourism and educational exchanges and called for cooperation in such areas as movies and the music and computer game industry, the spokesman said.
The South Korean leader briefed his ASEAN counterparts on "reconciliation and peace talks" between North and South Korea and received support for his "sunshine policy" to bring Pyongyang out from years of isolation.
For their part, the ASEAN leaders congratulated Kim for winning this year's Nobel peace prize for his work in trying to reconcile the two Koreas.
They expressed hope Kim's efforts would eventually result in peaceful reunification, which they said in a statement would contribute to the stability of East Asia.
Expressing support for the existing ASEAN-plus-three arrangement, President Kim backed the idea of a study into economic integration for the entire group.
"Kim Dae-Jung agreed with the necessity (of this) and hoped this (unified) vision group would come true," his spokesman said.
ASEAN-plus-three refers to the annual meetings between the 10 ASEAN leaders and China, Japan and South Korea.
The South Korean president noted that while ASEAN countries were rich in natural resources like petroleum and natural gas, South Korea was lacking in these and was "seeking cooperation" from ASEAN on secure supplies at "reasonable prices."
He also asked that South Korean firms take part in the ASEAN plan to build a railway from Singapore to Malaysia, Indochina and on to China.
To further contribute to regional integration, Kim president proposed the 10 ASEAN countries join a sports exchange program involving China, Japan and South Korea.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.