Laos-Korea training centre opens to spur rural development

The Laos-Korea Rural Development Training Centre in Xaythany district, Vientiane, officially opened on Tuesday with the intention of boosting the capacity of people working in the agriculture, forestry and rural development sector.                        

The centre was established to strengthen rural development in Laos in alignment with the Party¡¯s Sam Sang (Three Builds) directive. 
It is also part of the ¡°Integrated Rural Development Project with Saemaul Undong¡¯s Participatory Approach¡± which has a total budget of US$14.55 million and is supported by the government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). 
The opening ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials from the Lao government including Deputy Prime Minister Dr Bounthong Chitmany, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr Lien Thikeo, Minister to the Prime Minister¡¯s Office Dr Phet Phomphiphak, and officials from various ministries.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Laos, Mr Shin Sung-Soon, and KOICA Resident Representative Mr Sungsoo Oh also attended the ceremony along with leaders from project pilot villages in Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces. 
The Laos-Korea Rural Development Training Centre will be a base camp to encourage and empower government officials and villagers to play crucial roles in community-based rural development by providing knowledge and skills for their community¡¯s development and sharing Korea¡¯s own rural development experience - Saemaul Undong. 
Dr Lien expressed his congratulations and appreciation to the government of the Republic of Korea for supporting the first training centre for rural development in Laos. 
¡°I believe the Lao-Korea Rural Development Training Centre will contribute to rural development and poverty reduction, and will improve the quality of life of citizens, which are the objectives of Laos¡¯ Sam Sang initiative and Korea¡¯s Saemaul Undong concept.¡±
Ambassador Shin also expressed his expectations for the centre, saying ¡°I believe rural development is the key for Laos to graduate from Least Developed Country status by 2020. I sincerely hope the centre will be the heart of Laos¡¯ sustainable rural development. The Korean government will strongly support the achievement of the Lao government¡¯s rural development vision.¡±
A village leader from one of the 30 Saemaul Undong pilot villages, Mrs Noy Phomachan, from Dongkhao village in Vientiane province, said ¡°Training is a great opportunity for us to apply Korea¡¯s experience and knowledge in rural development to our villages and I believe this will be a cornerstone in stepping forward to the future of our economic development.¡±
The centre consists of classrooms, dormitories, a library, canteen and auditorium and has high-quality facilities. It has so far provided training courses for 1,100 village leaders, women leaders, local officials and senior officials. Next year¡¯s plan is for 250 participants, 1,360 people in total including government officials, village leaders and Saemaul Undong leaders from Vientiane and Savannakhet provinces are expected to participate in training sessions at the Laos-Korea Rural Development Training Centre until next year.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update November 8, 2018)