Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul / Korea Times file

The foreign ministry said Thursday it held an interagency meeting to evaluate potential grant aid projects for next year in line with the government policy to expand its development aid contribution globally.

A total of 4.16 trillion won ($3.03 billion) worth of candidate projects have been submitted for 2025, up 21.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun, who presided over the meeting, stressed that the government will continue its efforts to increase official development assistance (ODA) to "a level that meets the national status" and help bring fruitful results for the recipient countries.

Based on the potential projects, the foreign ministry will finalize the 2025 grant aid plans. The final version of the plans will be decided by the development cooperation committee led by the prime minister later this year. (Yonhap)