Gyeonggi-style Peace ODA Expands to Asia-Pacific Region... 'Peace ODA Platform' Fully Operational

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 10th that the 'HDP Nexus Committee,' which will serve as a peace official development assistance (ODA) platform among local governments in the Asia-Pacific region, has officially launched under the province's leadership.

The HDP Nexus Committee is an exchange and cooperation platform among Asia-Pacific local governments aimed at discovering and disseminating peace ODA projects that link humanitarian assistance with development and peace (nexus).

In March, the province proposed establishing the HDP Nexus Committee as a permanent committee under the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Asia-Pacific section (ASPAC) and received approval for its establishment in June.

The HDP Nexus Committee held its first meeting during the UCLG ASPAC general assembly held online July 7-9, discussing future committee operations and activity plans, and placing the committee charter on the agenda for adoption.

Lee Jae-gang, Vice Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province, stated in opening remarks: "I hope this committee becomes a platform that discovers projects for residents of regions where humanitarian assistance is urgently needed and contributes to the establishment and expansion of peace," and "I urge greater interest and support from local governments both domestic and international in the Asia-Pacific region so that it can develop into a sustainable platform."

Lee Sung-hoon, non-standing director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, who gave a keynote speech on the topic of 'ODA and HDP Nexus' at the meeting, emphasized: "We must strengthen cooperation among local governments that support peace ODA."

Bernardia Tandradewe, Secretary-General of UCLG ASPAC, in a second keynote presentation on the topic of 'UCLG Commitments 2021-25 and the Committee,' suggested: "To ensure that UCLG's commitments and the committee's activities align, we must take an approach centered on vulnerable groups including women, children, and people with disabilities."

The first HDP Nexus Committee meeting received keen attention from local governments worldwide, with 95 participants from 54 regional governments and organizations from 8 countries—14 domestic and 40 from 7 overseas countries—completing pre-registration to participate in the committee.

Domestically, Gyeonggi Province, the Association of Mayors and Governors, Daejeon, Busan, Jeollanam-do, Jeju, Jeonju, Gunsan, and Gyeongju participated; overseas participants came from local governments and organizations in China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Taiwan, and other countries.

Going forward, the committee will focus on creating a foundation for promoting peace in the Asia-Pacific region based on humanitarianism, facilitating the economic and social development of aid recipient countries, and fostering peace dissemination and establishment, while conducting inter-local government consultations on peace ODA projects and sharing knowledge and information.

The launch of the 'HDP Nexus Committee' is particularly significant in that it was created under Gyeonggi Province's leadership, which has presented a new direction for local government-level ODA through its implementation of 'Gyeonggi-style Peace ODA.'

The 'HDP Nexus' (humanitarian-development-peace linkage) model recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is expected to serve as an opportunity for widespread dissemination in the Asia-Pacific region beyond Gyeonggi Province and Korea.

The province plans to actively carry out 'Gyeonggi-style Peace ODA' projects by concretizing peace ODA discussions among Asia-Pacific local governments based on the committee, and continuing toward discovery of specific projects.