Q: Can you summarise KOICA's activities in Viet Nam in the recent past?

A: Since opening its office in Viet Nam in June 1994, the agency has engaged in projects on human resources development, education, health care, vocational training, and humanitarian aid. Furthermore, KOICA has helped Viet Nam with the development of rural projects and its growing market economy.

During the 1991-2004 period, KOICA invited 1,624 Vietnamese officials to make fact-finding tours to the RoK. It sent 157 volunteers to Viet Nam to teach Korean and Taekwondo, and to help the country's health care sector. It also sent 37 experts to Viet Nam to exchange experiences with their Vietnamese counterparts on how to assess scientific works, fisheries and vocational training.

KOICA has helped Viet Nam implement 28 projects on education, health care and vocational training, including the construction of 40 schools and five hospitals in central provinces and the provision of medical facilities to 12 hospitals nationwide. It also helped build a vocational training school in Ha Noi and the Viet Nam-RoK Technical Workers School, worth 5 million USD, in Vinh city of central Nghe An province, as well as provide facilities for a vocational training school in Quy Nhon city of central Binh Dinh province. Viet Nam has asked the RoK to help it build another five technical workers schools. KOICA is currently engaging in building an information technology college worth 20 million USD in central Da Nang city. Of the money, 10 million USD will be funded by the RoK which will also provide teaching aids and textbooks to the school as soon as the construction is complete.

In addition, KOICA also assisted Viet Nam in establishing the stock market. It is taking part in a project to enhance the capacity of the anti-drug coordinating agency under the Public Security Ministry and a project on a draft law on information technology.

It has also carried out five public works projects, including a project to study the construction of Highway 18 from Bac Ninh to Quang Ninh province.

Q: Could you tell us which fields in Viet Nam KOICA gives priority to?

A: KOICA always places Viet Nam on top of the countries receiving aid from the RoK. Almost all of our projects are based on Viet Nam's requirements. KOICA usually cooperates with Viet Nam's Ministry of Planning and Investment to map out feasible projects that will accelerate socio-economic development in the country. We support all of its five-year and ten-year socio-economic development plans and base ourselves on these plans to map out proper projects.

We give priority to projects on human resources development, education and health care, vocational training, information technology, technology transfer, and construction of schools and hospitals.

A: How does KOICA assess the results of its projects in Viet Nam?

Q: Compared with other developed countries, the RoK's non-refundable aid to Viet Nam is not high, but we focus on localities and fields that the Vietnamese Government pays attention to, for example poor localities such as the central region, or poverty reduction, education and health care quality improvement, vocational training and information technology. In general, these projects are judged as suitable to Viet Nam's policies and programmes for socio-economic development.

KOICA has always observed all commitments made by the two sides, and started our projects quicker than other countries' projects. The aid has been efficiently implemented. We highly appreciate the Vietnamese side's efforts and the results of the projects. These projects are also assessed by the Vietnamese government as practical, especially when the beneficiaries are poor people.

A: Could you tell us of KOICA's future plan of assistance to Viet Nam?

Q: Now, the total ODA granted by the RoK Goverment to developing countries represents 0.06 percent of the gross national income (GNI). The RoK strives to raise its ODA to 0.1 percent of GNI by 2009. I believe that our ODA to Viet Nam will be doubled or tripled, which means Viet Nam will receive 20-30 million USD a year. In the 1991-2003 period, Viet Nam received 4-5 million USD in non-refundable aid per year on average, and in 2004, Viet Nam received 9 million USD.

During the visit to Viet Nam by RoK Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan in April of this year, the two sides signed an agreement on non-refundable aid and technical assistance. We are now preparing to execute the agreement in order to increase assistance to Viet Nam./.