The signing ceremony of the Project for “Supporting Green Circular Economy through Agricultural Value Chain Improvement in Northern Viet Nam” in Cao Bang province

Accordingly, the Project for “Supporting Green Circular Economy through Agricultural Value Chain Improvement in Northern Viet Nam” in Cao Bang and Bac Kan will be implemented from 2025 to 2029. The budget for each project will be provided by the Korean Government with a non-refundable aid of 10 million USD (equivalent to 13 billion Korean won) within the project budget to cover the costs of implementing commitments. The Vietnamese Government will ensure sufficient counterpart funds necessary to fulfill commitments for the project to operate sustainably and autonomously.

The project will contribute to increasing added value for agricultural value chains through the development of a circular value chain action plan to reduce raw material loss and improve the efficiency of production, processing, brand development and markets. The project also contributes to improving access to finance for farmers and cooperatives in expanding production scale, improving processing capacity, preservation and product quality. Project partners will be trained and coached to enhance their capacity, thereby enhancing their access to domestic and international markets for agricultural value chain products through targeted promotion activities.

Director of KOICA in Vietnam Ly Byung Hwa said that the signing ceremony was the result of cooperation and mutual trust between the two countries, and is also an important milestone in the journey towards sustainable development and regional economic growth. With the goal of comprehensively improving the agricultural value chain in Bac Kan and Cao Bang provinces, the Project is expected to be implemented from 2025 - 2029 and focus on three main aspects such as strengthening the production base and people's capacity; modernizing the stages of processing and distributing agricultural products; promoting marketing activities and market access. The project aims to achieve three main values: improving the quality of life of people in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam, enhancing economic autonomy for ethnic minorities and protecting the environment.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Trinh Truong Huy affirmed that immediately after the signing ceremony, Cao Bang province would ensure to provide sufficient budget for the project. He emphasized that the province is committed to continuing to support and facilitate the KOICA Vietnam Country Office and Korean experts in implementing the project in Cao Bang province and implementing other commitments in the signed Minutes. The CSSP Project Coordination Board is assigned to promptly take charge of implementing the Project's investment procedures (Preparing a feasibility study report for the Project; arranging working rooms for the KOICA Project Management Board and Korean experts during their work in the province; promptly establishing the Project Steering Committee and Project Management Board as the supervising and directing agencies, organizing the implementation to ensure the achievement of the Project's objectives). The project will be launched no later than the second quarter of 2025 according to the implementation roadmap in the Discussion Minutes.

The Vice Chairman expressed his belief that with the determination, efforts and commitment of the parties, the Project would achieve great achievements and impacts on the agricultural and tourism sectors of the two provinces of Cao Bang and Bac Kan, thereby contributing positively to improving people's lives.