A number of activities took place in the central province of Quang Tri on May 19 to mark the 20 th anniversary of Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) diplomatic ties.

The People’s Committee of Quang Tri, the Foreign Ministry and the RoK Embassy in Vietnam jointly held a ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrading of the Quang Tri Vocational School in Dong Ha city.

The school has a total investment of 110 billion VND (5.2 million USD), with 4.7 million USD coming from the RoK Government’s non-refundable aid.

The Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed an agreement on a programme to support community-based economic development in Quang Tri province.

The 2012-2015 programme will focus on four areas, including human resource development, health, poverty reduction and green growth.

The RoK Embassy in Vietnam took the occasion to present gifts, including televisions, fans, cooking utensils and toys, to the War Invalids Care and Social Welfare Centre.

The embassy also handed over medical equipment worth 230,000 USD to the Vinh Linh District General Hospital .

In addition, many art performances and free health check programmes were also held in the province.

Attending all the activities, Foreign Deputy Minister Ho Xuan Son spoke highly of the rapid and effective development of the Vietnam-RoK friendship and cooperation over the past 20 years.

He stressed that activities held in Quang Tri province on this occasion have actively contributed to strengthening the mutual trust and understanding between the Vietnamese and RoK people as well as to the sustainable development of the bilateral friendship and cooperation. -VNA