South Korea to give $50m soft loan to support Bangladesh's Covid responses

South Korea has decided to provide Bangladesh a soft loan of US$ 50 million to support the country's efforts for fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
The loan will be provided from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), a soft loan for assisting the socio-economic development programme of developing countries run by EXIM Bank Korea.
 
Dhaka and Seoul will soon enter into discussions for the implementation of the loan decision, including the conclusion of the Loan Agreement, said the Korean Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.
 
So far, the Republic of Korea has provided the EDCF to Bangladesh for 24 projects with the amount of $ 1.14 billion.
 
Bangladesh is the second-largest recipient of Korea's EDCF loan.
 
Also, in support of Bangladesh's efforts to contain the Covid-19, the Republic of Korea will donate Covid-19 test kits worth $800,000 through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other equipment such as ten units of walk-through booths through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
 
Reaffirming the solidarity with the government and people of Bangladesh in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the Korean Embassy wished that this loan would play a meaningful role in Bangladeshis efforts to effectively address the Covid-19 crisis.