SEOUL - South Korea on Tuesday agreed to double its development aid to Africa in the next three years to help the continent fight poverty and grow sustainably, Seoul officials said.

South Korea's overseas development assistance to Africa will increase two-fold by 2012 from last year's 107 million dollars, they said.

The accord was announced when South Korea and the 15-state African Union launched a second forum here to discuss economic cooperation and environment, with more than 100 top African officials attending.

The foreign ministers of South Korea and African Union states signed the agreement on the sidelines of the forum, according to a joint statement.

"We agree to strengthen our partnership in order to support Africa in eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development as well as to promote the prosperity of African countries and Korea," the statement said.

The planned aid, largely in the form of credit or grant, will be allocated to a wide range of areas, including rural development, vocational training and information communication technology assistance, it said.

It will also help African Union states initiate feasibility studies on environmental projects and explore "green business" models like eco-tourism.

South Korea has stepped up efforts to improve ties with resource-rich African states, increasing aid to the continent to 107 million dollars last year, up from 42 million dollars in 2005.

Two-way trade between South Korea and African countries reached 13.43 billion dollars in 2008, according to Seoul's foreign ministry data.