A seminar was held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on June 11 to discuss new rural construction in Vietnam and the experience of the Republic of Korea (RoK).
The event was co-organised by the coordinating office of the New Rural Area Construction Programme of Thai Nguyen province and several Vietnamese and RoK universities.
Panels at the seminar discussed a range of topics, including solutions for new rural construction in Vietnam; RoK’s experiences in “New village” (Saemaul Undong) construction; State agencies’ roles in developing “new villages”; projects to develop production and improve farmers’ income; international cooperation; as well as training in new rural construction.
Most of the participants agreed that the National Target Programme on New Rural Area Construction revolutionises agriculture, farming and rural areas in Vietnam.
It plays a strategic role in the country’s industrialisation, modernisation, and socio-economic sustainable development. It also contributes to preserving and upholding national culture and protects the environment.
RoK’s experts shared their experience in encouraging people to build rural infrastructure; developing production to improve farmers’ income; training a labour force; and developing cooperative economics based on community development.
According to an evaluation of the central coordinating office of the National Target Programme on New Rural Area Construction, after three years of implementation, the nation’s rural areas have seen active and significant changes.
Vietnam is striving to have 200-300 communes nationwide achieving all 19 criteria of the programme by 2015.-VNA
