Mr. Cho Han Deog, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Viet Nam Country Director - Photo: VGP/Thuy Dung

In an interview with the VGP, Mr. Cho Han Deog, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Viet Nam Country Director stated that, last year was a difficult year not only for Viet Nam but also for all the nations around the world due to the appearance of new coronavirus variants with the fast transmission.

However, thanks to the leadership of Viet Nam's senior leaders, the high capacity of the Vietnamese Government, the sacrifice of the health workers and joint efforts of the people, the pandemic has been contained and the situation did not get worse.

Diagnosis, prevention and treatment are key factors in coping with infectious diseases link COVID-19. In 2020, the country did not produce the domestically-grown vaccine. Nonetheless, the Vietnamese Government focused on the pandemic prevention work and effectively coped with COVID-19, said Cho Han Deog.

In 2021, with a view to increasing vaccination coverage nationwide, the Government called on the international community's sponsor via vaccine diplomacy to guarantee the essential volume of vaccines for all the people.

The vaccination campaign in Viet Nam has gained success as Viet Nam is one of six countries in the world in terms of the number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, he stressed.

In response to Viet Nam's vaccine diplomacy, the Republic of Korea (RoK) donated 1.39 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses for the country last year.

In addition, the RoK's Government, via the KOICA, donated 42.5 million syringes and 300,000 antigen test kits for Viet Nam, which are very practical and make contributions to vaccination campaigns and diagnosis as well as resume economic activities in the Southeast Asian nation.

In 2021, the KOICA not only supports Viet Nam in launching COVID-19 response programs but also finances the implemenation of projects in fields of urban development, climate change adaption and social security 

According to Cho Han Deog, the KOICA has focused on four key sectors in accordance with the Vietnamese Government's socio-economic plan: (1) Enhancement of the national innovation system; (2) Establishment of a transparent, responsible and effective management institution; (3) Sustainable and comprehensive rural development and (4) Building smart urban area and development of urban sustainability.

The RoK's Government has realized the necessity of supporting other countries in the COVID-19 fight as the pandemic has threatened the global health sector. Therefore, Agenda for Building Resilience against COVID-19 was urgently launched.

The program has not only provided COVID-19 prevention supplies but also sponsored food and other medical supplies for some developing nations in the world, including Viet Nam.

Four remarkable projects of the KOICA in Viet Nam include (1) Viet Nam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology worth US$35 million (2) the KOICA Education and Research Capacity Building Project at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, valued at nearly US$10 million, (3) US$9 million-project for Strengthening Agricultural Higher Education of Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City (4) Higher education program for Viet Nam National University of Agriculture to enhance human resources specialized in animal husbandry of Viet Nam worth US$12.7 million.

In 2022, the KOICA is scheduled to launch 26 official cooperation projects worth US$248 million, including US$18 million for 12 new cooperation projects with the RoK's institutes and US$5 million for seven public–private partnership (PPP) projects.

This year, the total sponsor of the KOICA for Viet Nam is expected to reach US$272 million.

Among sectors sponsored by the KOICA, technique, environment and energy accounted for the largest proportion of 25 percent, followed by public governance (22 percent), education (20 percent), agriculture-aquatic-forestry sector (16 percent) and other sectors (16 percent).