South Korea on Friday inked an agreement to expand a joint loan facility program with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in a bid to support infrastructure development in Latin America.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone signed the agreement between the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), South Korea's lower-interest loan scheme with emerging countries, and the regional development bank, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The agreement will expand the EDCF-IDB lending facility to $500 million by 2025 from the previous $300 million designed for 2018-2022. It will also provide support to projects pursued by private companies.

South Korea launched the EDCF program in 1987 in an effort to help other developing countries with their basic infrastructure facilities.

The EDCF-IDB loan facility allows South Korea and Central and South American countries to jointly develop infrastructure projects in the region and share operating costs.

The fund also has been spent on improving medical infrastructures in the region amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)