South Korea signed a framework agreement with Laos on Thursday to extend US$500 million of economic cooperation funds from 2024 through 2027 for the Southeast Asian country, the finance ministry said.The two nations signed the agreement on the low-interest loan program in the Lao capital of Vientiane as President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the nation for a summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.The amount of the South Korean EDCF program for Laos will remain the same as the current program of $500 million for the 2020-23 period."The agreement is expected to enhance bilateral cooperation in Laos in transport, water resources and other high value-added infrastructure fields," the ministry said in a release.South Korea launched the EDCF program in 1987 with the purpose of supporting economic and social infrastructure projects in developing countries.Source: Yonhap News Agency