South Korea will spend over 50 billion won ($46.17 million) this year for joint research and development of new technologies and products with other countries, the government said Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the country will spend 10.6 billion won on bilateral projects with five different countries, including China, Germany and France.

An additional 9.7 billion won will be spent on multilateral projects involving two or more other countries.

The amount spent on bilateral and multilateral projects will be matched by other participating parties, it said.

South Korea will also allocate 31.2 billion won for joint projects funded solely by the country.

These projects are partly aimed at getting technology transfer from advanced nations participating in the joint R&D, the ministry said.

The total amount marks a 6.6 billion won increase from a year earlier. The sum set aside for projects funded by South Korea only has been cut by 4.6 billion won, according to the ministry.

"In the past, most of the country's joint R&D projects with other countries were funded by South Korea without any support of other participants as we sought to catch up with advanced technologies of other countries," the ministry said.

"The rise in the amount of money for jointly funded projects means we now have the technology leadership that allows us to work with other countries on a more equal footing." (Yonhap)