Delegates at the MoU signing ceremony. — Photo diendandoanhnghiep.vn

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Construction Nguyễn Thanh Nghị held talks with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Park Sanwoo in Hà Nội on July 16, during which the two ministers inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the two ministries in urban and social housing development.

Nghị said he believes that the MoU will make collaboration between the two ministries more substantive and effective, contributing to the growth of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The talks provided a chance for the two sides to evaluate the achievements of their cooperation since the signing of their MoU in March 2018 and discuss the future development orientations of Vietnam in general and the construction sector in particular, thus reaching consensus on the contents of their cooperation in the coming time.

Over the years, the two ministries have maintained delegation exchanges as well as information and experience sharing, while implementing Korean ODA-funded projects, including a project to establish the Việt Nam-Korea Cooperation Centre (VKC) for Smart City and Construction Technology, and another to provide technical support to improve the Vietnamese ministry's urban development planning and management capacity through building an urban planning and development information system (UPIS).

Besides, the two sides have worked together to send experts from the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) to the Ministry of Construction, and share knowledge and experience in social housing development, they noted.

Nghị suggested increasing delegation exchanges between the two sides to share experience in institution completion in social housing development, and asked the RoK’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to hasten Korean ODA-funded projects for his ministry, especially in the fields of smart urban areas and social housing.

The two sides pledged to create favourable conditions for Korean firms to implement the Urban Growth Partnership Programme (UDPP) for which the LH has signed cooperation agreements with Vietnamese localities such as Bắc Ninh, Bắc Giang, Hưng Yên, Thanh Hóa and Bình Dương.

They will encourage Korean companies to engage in smart urban development, while providing favourable conditions for them to implement social housing projects in Vietnam under the scheme to build at least 1 million apartments for low-income earners and workers in industrial parks in the 2021-2030 period.

Nghị also asked the RoK to share experience with his ministry to help with the drafting of a Law on Urban Development.

For his part, Park said that his ministry hopes to work more closely with the Ministry of Construction of Việt Nam towards a long-term and sustainable partnership.

He said that the RoK has reached an urbanisation rate of 90 per cent, and is willing to share its experience, knowledge and technologies with Vietnam in social housing development. — VNS