New President of Korea International Cooperation Agency visits and works in Nghe An

Accompanying the delegation, on the side of Nghe An province, there was comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and representative leaders of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Scene of the working session between the KOICA delegation and the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical Vocational College. Photo: Thu Giang

At the meeting, on behalf of the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical Vocational College, Mr. Ho Van Dam - Principal said that the school was established on December 4, 1998 under the decision of the People's Committee of Nghe An province and was upgraded in 2007 under the decision of the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The first phase of the school construction project, funded by the Korean Government in 1998, cost 5 million USD, and the second phase in 2007 cost 2.3 million USD.

Nghe An province contributed to phase 1 and phase 2 with a total budget of 2.5 million USD and a campus area of ​​over 7.6 hectares. Over the past 18 years, the school has been operating effectively and has promoted the project's effectiveness.

The delegation listened to an introduction about the school's history of establishment and development. Photo: Thu Giang

Currently, the Korean government is funding 6 million USD for phase III investment for the school, starting from 2016. The counterpart fund of Nghe An province is more than 1.5 million USD.

"This is a good assessment of the project's effectiveness, demonstrating concern for Nghe An and trust in the school's leaders, staff, teachers and students," said Mr. Ho Van Dam.

By 2020, the school strives to become a high-quality vocational school, reaching regional and world standards; at the same time, it will open a number of more professions, invest in factory facilities, machinery and equipment, expand the campus, train and standardize the teaching staff to approach the 4.0 revolution...

On that basis, the school proposed that the Korean Government continue to support investment; support the construction of a National Vocational Skills Assessment Center for the Central region; and introduce cooperation with a number of Korean universities.

In addition, the school also proposed KOICA to support the establishment of a regional-class Korean language training center; to build the school into a model of training cooperation between Vietnam and Korea.

On behalf of the delegation, KOICA President Lee Mi Kyung said: “The Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technical Vocational College is not only famous in Nghe An in particular, Vietnam in general, but also known by many people in Korea. The school is one of the projects that the Korean government's inspection report assessed as a typical success among KOICA projects.”

The new President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency expressed his special impression of the school's development steps, with support from many sides, including KOICA, Nghe An province, and the Vietnamese Government.

For phase III of the project to continue to be successful, Ms. Lee said that the school needs to further promote the spirit of high autonomy like in previous phases in the investment reception process, and at the same time, strengthen cooperation with businesses so that the project can soon become effective.

Provincial leaders and the delegation visited the practice workshop on campus. Photo: Thu Giang

Representing the leaders of Nghe An province, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Minh Thong hopes that the cooperative relationship between Korea - Vietnam in general and Korea - Nghe An in particular will develop increasingly well.

He thanked the Korean side for supporting the school over the past 18 years to help it develop rapidly in many aspects, which was highly appreciated by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and ranked among the national key schools. He also emphasized his hope that KOICA would pay more attention to making the school, a symbol of the bilateral friendship between Vietnam and Korea, develop further.

KOICA President visited Happy Bakery and was moved to learn that a portion of the bakery's profits were used to support disadvantaged people in society. Photo: Thu Giang

Next, the delegation also visited Happy Bakery on Le Hong Phong Street, Vinh City. This is a cooperation project between KOICA, Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technical Vocational College and CJ Foodville Company to support the development of the food sector in Nghe An. A portion of the bakery's profits is used to support those in difficult circumstances and vulnerable people in society.

On the same afternoon, as planned, the working delegation will visit Kim Lien Relic Site (Nam Dan) and have a courtesy meeting with leaders of Nghe An province.

Thu Giang