Deshmukh assures support to South Korean model village project

New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Vilasrao Deshmukh assuring support to the model village project by South Korea in India, on Wednesday said it will further strengthen co-operation between the two nations.

During the meeting with Ambassador of South Korea in India, Kim Joong Keun, Deshmukh welcomed the idea and said that the model village would be identified in consultation with the State Government.

"A nodal person would be identified by the Ministry of Rural Development to design and implement the project in collaboration with the partners and the South Korean counterparts. South Korean Ambassador also mooted the idea that vocational training centres can be developed to hone the skills of the people and the workers in and around the identified village," he added.

Deshmukh said that such initiatives are a reflection of growing cooperation between India and South Korea and hoped that the initiative will gather momentum in times to come.

" Both India and South Korea are members of Afro-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), an inter-governmental agency which helps share the expertise in rural development among the member countries from Asia Pacific and African Region," he added.

Joong Keun, who proposed the idea of a model village, said that the project based on New Village Movement Initiative in South Korea envisages developing a model village in India where the villagers choose their leader, get trained and then decide what could be the best way to develop the village.

"The basic material support and assistance is proposed to be provided by the Government and or the collaborating agencies," Keun added.

Korean Chambers of Commerce is reported to have expressed their willingness to assist financially in the pilot initiative under which one model village would be identified as a pilot project.

Based on its success the model can be replicated in a larger area. The whole process would be assisted and monitored in consultations with the different stakeholders. (ANI)