View of the ceremony
Attending the ceremony, there were Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Head of the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee to overcome the consequences of land mines and toxic chemicals after the war in Viet Nam; Senior Lieutenant General Phung Sy Tan - Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee to overcome the consequences of land mines and toxic chemicals after the war in Viet Nam; Major General Tran Trung Hoa - Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, General Director of the Viet Nam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC).
On the side of international agencies, there were: Mr. Lee Byung Hwa - Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Vietnam; Ms. Ramla Khalidi - Chief Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam.
Mr. Nguyen Tu Cong Hoang - Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh People's Committee attended the ceremony.
The KVPVP project is funded by the Korean Government through KOICA in Vietnam with technical support and advice from UNDP in Viet Nam. The project has a total capital of more than USD 14 million (Binh Dinh province received support of USD 4.215.713 equivalent to 97,720 billion VND, with counterpart capital was 9,712 billion VND). The project will be implemented from May 2024 to December 2026 in three provinces of Thua Thien - Hue, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh with the goal of overcoming post-war bomb and mine consequences and strengthening the protection of people in project areas, contributing to promoting local socio-economic development to serve the building of harmonious, safe, prosperous and resilient rural communities capable of responding to climate change in Viet Nam. The Government and the Ministry of National Defense have assigned VNMAC to be the project owner, responsible for coordinating military engineering units to conduct surveys and clear mines and coordinate with the authorities of the three provinces to deploy education prevent mine accidents for people in project implementation districts.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh People's Committee Nguyen Tu Cong Hoang said: According to the report on the current status and contamination of land mines and post-war explosives in Vietnam in 2018, in Binh Dinh province there were 159 communes, wards and towns in 11 districts, towns and cities are contaminated with mines and explosives with a total area of nearly 250,000 hectares, accounting for more than 40% of the province's natural area. Through the implementation of the Vietnam - Korea Cooperation project to overcome the consequences of post-war bombs and mines, Binh Dinh province has coordinated with the Project Management Board to conduct a technical survey of 10,700 hectares, of which nearly 4,800 hectares of mine-contaminated land have been identified and clearance of more than 4,200 hectares has been conducted, nearly 68,000 bombs, mines and explosives of all kinds were collected and destroyed to ensure safety. In addition, the Vice Chairman requested the relevant provincial agencies to closely coordinate with donors in organizing implementation so that the KVPVP project can be implemented effectively and meet the proposed requirements, especially in terms of progress, quality and objectives according to the approved project documents.
At the ceremony, Mr. Lee Byung Hwa - Director of KOICA in Vietnam said: The KVPVP project is KOICA's largest project in the field of mine action. This project demonstrates the important role mine action plays in promoting local socio-economic development and building harmonious, safe, resilient and prosperous rural communities in Vietnam. KOICA's regional strategy is titled “Mekong Peace Village Development Program”.
In order for the KVPVP project to be completed on schedule and ensure quality, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defense requested VNMAC to continue to closely coordinate with KOICA in Vietnam and UNDP in Vietnam, specifically the Project Management Board with the highest responsibility, focusing on managing the effective implementation of project activities, ensuring the project is completed on schedule, absolutely safe for people and the environment during project implementation, especially safety of mines and explosives.
Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien also requested the Ministry of National Defense - the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee to overcome the consequences of land mines and toxic chemicals after the war. He also asked the authorities and people of Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien Hue to support and create conditions to help in all aspects so that people work in the project can successfully complete their assigned tasks.