PARIS, April 9 (Xinhua) -- France increased its aid to promote economic development and welfare by 16 percent last year compared to 2016, French officials said on Monday.
In 2017, France's official development assistance totaled 10.1 billion euros (12.43 billion U.S. dollars), representing 0.43 percent of its gross national income, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a joint statement.
Multilateral aid grew by 19 percent over the period mainly due to the contribution to the Green Climate Fund, to help implement the Paris Agreement.
As to bilateral aid, the figure was up by 14 percent due to a rise in subsidized loans from the French Development Agency (AFD).
"This increase is expected to continue" with the AFD's pledge to increase commitments by 1 billion euro next year to strengthen bilateral aid notably in priority zones, according to the statement.
France remains fifth largest global aid provider, behind the United States, Germany, Britain and Japan. (1 euro=1.23 U.S. dollar)
