OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 22, 2012) - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Canada's Minister of International Cooperation, and Mr. Kim Sung-hwan, the Republic of Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the two countries' collaboration on international development.

"Canada and South Korea are two prosperous nations made richer by the shared values and generosity of our people," said Minister Baird. "The pact we signed today reflects our shared commitment to ensuring development funds are spent efficiently and transparently, with a focus on getting real results."

"Sharing the strong hope that we can make a better world, the Republic of Korea and Canada will work more closely in the area of international development cooperation. I believe that Korea's development experience as a recipient-turned-donor country and Canada's long-standing devotion to international development cooperation will create the right combination for effective development cooperation," said Minister Kim.

Today's MoU outlines areas of future cooperation on international development between Canada and South Korea including: working together on joint project and program development; engaging in policy dialogue; sharing lessons learned; and pursuing opportunities to coordinate resources in order to address urgent global challenges and enhance development effectiveness.

Canada and South Korea's agreement to strengthen cooperation is the result of negotiations initiated during the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, South Korea in November 2011.