ID :
202248
Fri, 08/19/2011 - 07:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202248
The shortlink copeid
U.S. envoy looks forward to joint development projects with S. Korea
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- Kathleen Stephens, the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, is looking forward to the two countries' cooperation in development assistance following a recent pact signed by their top diplomats, the envoy said in a blog posting this week.
"Our cooperation will initially focus on maternal and children's health in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions in greatest need," she wrote in the entry, saying more than 500,000 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
"Most of these deaths and illnesses are preventable. The ROK, with its world-class medical practitioners, is well-equipped to assist women in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions in this vital humanitarian mission," she said, referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.
Under the agreement, signed by South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June, the allies will hold annual consultations on policies and projects related to official development assistance. Each side will be represented by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development, respectively.
Once a recipient of international aid, South Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Development Assistance Committee in 2009, marking its official transition to a donor nation on the global stage. It has pledged to expand its official development assistance to some US$3 billion by 2015.
The U.S. was the largest donor last year, spending $30.15 billion on development assistance, according to OECD data.
Amb. Stephens, who first came to South Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1975, recalled the widespread poverty she saw in the country at the time and praised South Koreans for their "'can-do' spirit and good policies that underpinned Korea's extraordinary economic and democratic blossoming."
She also recounted the two nations' cooperation in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti last year.
"The U.S., Korea, and many other countries, both as governments and private citizens, provided a lot of disaster relief assistance to Haiti. I expect that similar cooperative ventures, where American and Korean efforts complement each other, will multiply as our development agreement goes into effect," she wrote, noting that South Korea is set to host the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in the southern port city of Busan in November. The forum is a major international conference on development assistance.
"With our combined efforts to address some of the biggest development challenges in the world, we've set a new standard for cooperation," the ambassador said.
"Our cooperation will initially focus on maternal and children's health in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions in greatest need," she wrote in the entry, saying more than 500,000 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
"Most of these deaths and illnesses are preventable. The ROK, with its world-class medical practitioners, is well-equipped to assist women in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions in this vital humanitarian mission," she said, referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.
Under the agreement, signed by South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June, the allies will hold annual consultations on policies and projects related to official development assistance. Each side will be represented by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development, respectively.
Once a recipient of international aid, South Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Development Assistance Committee in 2009, marking its official transition to a donor nation on the global stage. It has pledged to expand its official development assistance to some US$3 billion by 2015.
The U.S. was the largest donor last year, spending $30.15 billion on development assistance, according to OECD data.
Amb. Stephens, who first came to South Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1975, recalled the widespread poverty she saw in the country at the time and praised South Koreans for their "'can-do' spirit and good policies that underpinned Korea's extraordinary economic and democratic blossoming."
She also recounted the two nations' cooperation in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti last year.
"The U.S., Korea, and many other countries, both as governments and private citizens, provided a lot of disaster relief assistance to Haiti. I expect that similar cooperative ventures, where American and Korean efforts complement each other, will multiply as our development agreement goes into effect," she wrote, noting that South Korea is set to host the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in the southern port city of Busan in November. The forum is a major international conference on development assistance.
"With our combined efforts to address some of the biggest development challenges in the world, we've set a new standard for cooperation," the ambassador said.
