– Women’s Professional Training Center and Elementary School Dormitory to East Timor

Gyeonggi Province is actively rolling out support to underdeveloped countries.
Gyeonggi Province announced that it has successfully established a Women’s Professional Training Center and Elementary School Dormitories, and offered them to the East Timor government on May 28th at a hand-over ceremony.
The ceremony was participated in by about 100 people, including Jeon Tae-heon, Head of Gyeonggi Province Economic Investment Management Team, Moon Jun-ho, Korean Ambassador to East Timor, Veronica Koreia, Manager of East Timor Alola Foundation, Lee Dae-hun, Missionary to East Timor, and citizens of East Timor.

Support for East Timor began with an agreement between Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Ambassador to East Timor in March 2006, in which Gyeonggi Province promised to provide $50,000 to East Timor, and two buildings to be built by the East Timor government under the supervision of the Korean Embassy in East Timor. The hand-over ceremony means that the management and maintenance of the buildings have been transferred to the East Timor government.

In particular, the Women’s Professional Training Center will contribute to activating the handcraft goods industry, by utilizing the traditional culture of East Timor. Given the fact that East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world, the center will be of great help to the nation’s economic self-sufficiency.

So far, Gyeonggi Province has launched a wide range of projects to support the social stability and economic reconstruction of East Timor, in order to maintain a continuous cooperative relationship. Last year, former President of East Timor Gusmsao participated in the World Peace Festival held in Imjingak, the very site of the division between North and South Korea, to deliver a message of peace.

Before the hand-over ceremony, Gyeonggi Province signed agreements to provide medical support to Hatai Province, Vietnam on May 22nd and regional development and education to Kampot Province, Cambodia on May 25th.
A Gyeonggi Province official said “This occasion also provided the opportunity to identify how the facilities provided are being used, and to discuss future support measures with local people” adding “Gyeonggi Province’s projects to support underdeveloped countries and areas hit by natural disasters, which began in 2005, have greatly contributed to the international standing of Gyeonggi Province, and we will continue to seek diverse means of support for needy areas in the future.”

For more information, contact the International Commerce and Trade Bureau at 031) 249-2467