Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai (R) receives Lee Sung-hee, Chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) of the RoK. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Thesuccessful experience of the "New Village Movement" in the Republicof Korea (RoK) is being applied in some Vietnamese localities through the Haeng Bok (Happy) Programmefunded by the KoreaInternational Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has said.
During a reception for Lee Sung-hee, Chairman of the National Agricultural CooperativeFederation (NACF) of the RoK, in Hanoi on April 3, Khai emphasisedthat Vietnam has received active support and close cooperation from the RoK governmentin agricultural and rural development.
As a country with a strong agricultural foundation, Vietnamwants to learn from experience of other countries, including the RoK, thus applyinggood practices in this scheme, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai (R) and Lee Sung-hee, Chairman of the NACF. (Photo: VNA) In the process of industrialisation andmodernisation, the Vietnamese Party and the State have always focused on developingagriculture and improving the lives of farmers, considering these as animportant foundation for sustainable socio-economic development, Khai noted.
He expressed his hope that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperationsigned recently between the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the NACF, willcontribute to developing agricultural cooperatives and increasing incomes forfarmers in both countries.
Established in 1961, the NACF played an important role in promoting the "New Village Movement" in the RoK inthe 1960s, contributing to changing the face of the countryside and improving thelives of Korean people. The movement has become a "brand" and symbolof the great development process of the East Asian nation.
Khai showed his belief that the NACF would activelycoordinate with the Vietnamese Government to support the development ofagriculture and rural areas, contributing to Vietnam’s socio-economicdevelopment.
For his part, Lee said that the signing of the MoUbetween the NACF and the VCA would create a basis for cooperation betweenthe two nations in terms of cooperative development, thus helping the twocountries make new strides in agricultural development.
The RoK is currently the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam. The country rankssecond in development cooperation, tourism and labour partnership with Vietnam,and remains the third largest trade partner of the Southeast Asian nation.
The two sides have also witnessed strong development in people-to-peopleexchanges, with over 200,000 expatriatesfrom each country living, studying, and working in th♛e other country, includingabout 80,000 Vietnamese-Korean multicultural families./.
