GANDAKI, September 28: South Korea has expressed its interest to support in the transport management of Pokhara, the capital of Gandaki Province.
Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Nepal, Park Chong Suk, who is in Pokhara in connection with the International Tourism Day at the invitation of the Gandaki Province Government, expressed this during a meeting with Chief Minister Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel.
The South Korean envoy said he was impressed by the beauty and geographical location of Pokhara and its surroundings, expressing interest in operation and management of smart transportation in the lake city.
Ambassador Suk also said South Korea was ready to extend cooperation for the promotion of trade in the Gandaki province, adding that the South Korean government was making additional exercise regarding providing employment to more Nepali youths.
In the meeting took place on Monday, Chief Minister Pokharel said South Korea remained as the best foreign employment destination for thousands of Nepali youths who were using the employment there as the best opportunity for income and learning technology. He also described South Korea as a strong partner of Nepal in technology development and expansion, stating the country has provided important cooperation in education, health, rural development, good governance, climate change risk reduction, industry and energy sectors.
The Chief Minister recalled that South Korea has been showing special interest in grant and technical cooperation, saying the cooperation it has been extending to Nepal through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was equally significant.
He stated that the Gandaki province government was working with high priority for revival of the economic sector hit hard due to COVID-19 pandemic as well as the development of social sectors as education, health and nutrition. Chief Minister Pokharel said special works needed to be done in increasing the capacity of medical workers, upgrading the capacity of the hospitals, use of modern equipment and expansion of health services.
Stating the province government has special concern for the development of the rural area and poverty alleviation as well as creation of employment opportunities, he said extra efforts have to be made for the production, processing, packaging and branding of high-value agricultural products and herbs with competitive advantage that give high returns so that they could be supplied to the international market.
The Chief Minister said the province government was preparing the integrated province-level statistics for achieving the sustainable development goals, supporting the local governments in setting the indicators and priorities and investing for improving the sectors found weak through monitoring.
Vice Chairperson of the Province Policy and Planning Commission Dr Raghuraj Kafle and Province Government Chief Secretary Dr Damodar Regmi among the officials were present during the meeting.
