Seoul City announced on September 1 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation to promote entry into Latin American Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) held at Seoul City Hall at 2 p.m.
The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Tae-kyun, Deputy Mayor of Administration 1 of Seoul City, and Andre Soares, Executive Director for Korea at IDB. Established in 1959, IDB is the largest multilateral development bank in Latin America, supporting various projects in infrastructure, urban development, environment, and innovation.
This agreement marks the first of its kind for Korean local governments. Seoul City has laid the foundation to link policy advice and infrastructure construction in response to the growing demand for urban policies in Latin America.
Seoul City has been promoting 23 cooperative projects in 14 cities across 9 countries in Latin America, with 20 projects achieved in the past decade, representing a 6.6-fold increase from previous periods. However, existing projects focused mainly on consulting and training, limiting the connection to large-scale projects requiring significant financial resources.
Through this agreement, Seoul City plans to promote commercialization by utilizing IDB’s regional network and financing capabilities. Seoul City will support policy experience and design in the areas of transportation, smart cities, and environment, while IDB will be responsible for discovering ODA projects, technical cooperation, loans, and guarantees.
Currently, the ‘Comprehensive Urban Safety Plan through Safe City Platform’ project is underway in cooperation with IDB in Niterói, Brazil. Additionally, projects such as the ‘Congestion Charge System Design’ in Bogotá, Colombia through the World Bank (WB), and the ‘Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for Greater Malé Area’ in the Maldives through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are being promoted.
Deputy Mayor Kim Tae-kyun stated, “Seoul City has shared its experience in urban policies with overseas cities. This cooperation with IDB will respond to the growing demand for Latin American ODA and expand opportunities for Korean companies to enter the Latin American market.”