Korea has operated its green growth trust fund successfully to help developing countries attain more financing from the World Bank for their sustainable development, an executive at the bank said.

The Korea Green Growth Trust Fund was created in 2011 in partnership between the Korean government and the World Bank Group originally for a four-year program with $40 million from 2013 to 2016. Recently, the government replenished the fund with another $48 million with its operation extended to 2021.

“We are very grateful that Korea’s decision to replenish the trust fund. It has been extremely successful,” said Zoubida Allaoua, senior regional adviser to the East Asia and Pacific region at the World Bank, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul, Friday.

“It has actually leveraged $5.4 billion of lending from the bank,” said Allaoua, who has over 20 years of experience with the bank since she joined in 1988.

The major role of the KGGTF, a single-donor World Bank program, is to invite officials from developing countries and the World Bank to Korea, show them Korea’s best practices in urbanization, transport, information and communications technology and energy and environment and help developing countries get financing from the World Bank for their development projects.

While there were 24 World Bank projects supported by the trust fund, “eight would not have seen the light of day if it was not for the trust fund, Allaoua said.

One of the notable World Bank projects supported by KGGTF is solid waste management in cities in Ethiopia, she said.

While the African country hopes to raise more income for the poor through tourism business, cleaning up tourist spots in urban areas will not only raise income, but address health issues as well, Allaoua said. Moreover, through the process of trash collection and combustion, the project can also generate energy, she added.

Thanks to the KGGTF, 48 countries across the globe are benefiting, Allaoua said.

Asked whether any differences in culture might be a stumbling block for developing countries to benchmark Korea’s growth, she said “There are no barriers that can stop any country from learning from Korea and using what Korea did best to their advantage.”

While the World Bank has two core missions -- reducing extreme poverty by 2030 and increasing prosperity of the bottom 40 percent -- the most challenging work for Allaoua is convincing policymakers in developing countries to invest in sustainability.

“Convincing our clients is the most important job for me because you need to get the evidence, numbers to show them that it pays to invest in sustainability,” she said.

While urbanization is progressing at an unprecedented speed globally, Allaoua urged policymakers in developing countries to invest in mid-sized cities that have the biggest potentials for sustainability.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)