Presence of Global Organizations
On December 4, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Secretariat was opened in Songdo, Incheon City, along with the Korean office of the World Bank. The purpose is to share Korea’s economic growth experience with developing nations and increase its international standing as a development aid provider.
President Park Geun-hye participated in the GCF Secretariat opening ceremony held at the G Tower which started off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. President Park was accompanied in the ribbon-cutting ceremony by Hwang Woo-yeo, head of the curent majority Saenuri Party; Hyun Oh-seok, vice prime minister and financial minister; Héla Cheikhrouhou, Secretary General of the GCF; Jose Maria Clemente Sarte Salceda, co-chairman of the GCF; and Jim Yong, president of the World Bank.
President Park also delivered a congratulatory speech, in which she said, “My country, which has selected a response to climate change as one of its key policy goals and has moved ahead with various plans to serve the purpose, will put forth more efforts so that less-developed countries can better deal with climate change and the GCF can settle down and develop itself successfully.” She continued by saying, “We will present an innovative economic development model in which climate change is utilized as an opportunity to create a new growth momentum beyond a passive response.”
Financed by advanced economies, the GCF is expected to play a pivotal role to help less-developed nations take a greater part in the negotiations for carbon emissions reduction. In addition, it is going to overcome the limitations of existing environmental funds in terms of the scale and business scope of the funds.
The Korean office of the World Bank was opened in Songdo on the same day. The office has a significant symbolic meaning in that Korea has grown itself into a major development aid provider from a country that used to rely upon such assistance.
“Korea has inspired a lot of developing countries with its excellent economic growth experience,” said World Bank president Jim Yong, adding, “Korea and my organization will continue working together with each other for joint prosperity and the eradication of absolute poverty in the public and private sectors alike.”