Vietnam, Japan intensify strategic partnership
Senior Japanese Government officials have said they consider Vietnam to be Japan’s important partner and hope to enhance the Japan-Vietnam strategic partnership.
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Charge D’Affaire Hideo Suzuki announced the aid at the signing ceremony for a project in Hanoi on August 10, which was also attended by the regional director of the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) in Vietnam, Jeanne Samuel.
The project has been implemented in Quang Tri province since 2010 by HDI, a US non-governmental organization. It aims to help farmers, single women and ethnic minority people who have fallen victim to unexploded ordnance (UXO) explosions learn new skills for production to improve their incomes.
The number of households taking part in the project increased from nine in the beginning to 100 today. They have been offered training courses on mushroom cultivation and provided with new equipment to begin their own production.
Quang Tri is one of the provinces that was most damaged by bombs and mines during the past war. More than 500,000 tonnes of bombs and mines are not unearthed in the province. Around 10,000 of the 600,000 local people are victims of UXO explosions and, despite support from the Government, they still lead hard lives.
At the ceremony, Suzuki emphasized that the project will help the victims improve their lives as well as strengthen the friendship and mutual understanding between Vietnam and Japan.
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