Thursday, 16/06/2016 16:15 (GMT+7)
(CPV) - The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will offer USD20 million in non-refundable aid to the Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) for post-war bomb and landmine recovery efforts.
Photo: Huyen Trang
The Korean side will provide 62% of the total capital of USD32.2 million.
A record of discussions for the bilateral mine action project was inked in Hanoi on June 14th between KOICA Country Director Chang Jea-yun and Deputy National Defence Minister and member of the Steering Committee for the National Action Program on overcoming post-war bombs and mines (Steering Committee 504), Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh.
Managed by the National Defence Ministry and conducted by VNMAC, the 2016-2020 project aims to improve the management capacity of VNMAC, clear bombs and mines on an area of 8,000ha in the central provinces of Binh Dinh and Quang Binh, raise public awareness of bombs and mines’ dangers, and help victims re-integrate into the community.
Under the theme “Vietnam and the Republic of Korea cooperate in surmounting the aftermath of post-war unexploded ordnance (UXO)”, the project is a significant beginning to realise the commitments in a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in post-war bomb and mine recovery signed in 2014, and the framework agreement on non-refundable aid signed between the two Governments in 2009.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam, Mr Lee Hyuk, pledged to help victims of bombs, mines and explosives with rehabilitation and raise public awareness of how to avoid those accidents./.
Apart from setting up an information system on UXO-contaminated sites, training courses on safety will be carried out to help local people avoid being killed or wounded by UXOs, and making contributions to local economic development.
Both sides will establish monitoring and management boards for the project and launch regular consultation mechanisms throughout the process./.
ATP