Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife with children at the Kids First Village in the central province of Quang Tri.
During their stay, President Higgins and his wife studied infrastructure construction under Programme 135 in Vinh O commune, Vinh Linh district, one of the most disadvantaged communes in Quang Tri.
Earlier, they visited the Mine Action Visitor Centre at the Kids First Village under the RENEW Project and the site of the project’s technical survey operations in Hai Thai Commune, Gio Linh disitrict.
Within the framework of the trip, the provincial leaders met with Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan.
Nguyen Duc Chinh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, hoped the Irish government will continue supporting Quang Tri to achieve development goals in the 2017-2020 period and consider extending financial assistance to ethnic minorities living in mountainous areas in the province.
Quang Tri wished to receive continued Irish support in overcoming war consequences, especially a project on clearing unexploded ordnance carried out by the UK’s Mines Advisory Group (MAG) organisation.
The province invites Irish investors to invest in such fields as infrastructure, tourism, service, seafood farming and processing, coffee and rubber, he noted.
For his part, Minister Charles Flanagan appreciated Quang Tri’s co-ordination with the Irish Embassy in Vietnam in implementing the Irish government’s assistance programmes. He affirmed that the Irish government and people will continue supporting Vietnam in general and Quang Tri in particular in implementing Programme 135 on sustainable poverty reduction as well as in surmounting post-war bomb and mine consequences.
The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which they agreed to strengthen and deepen co-operation in the upcoming time.
Ireland has co-operated with Quang Tri province since 2007 with development assistance packages worth EUR2.3 million in total.
