Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
Korea, Vietnam deepen railway infrastructure cooperation through Knowledge Sharing Program
Kim Jae-jeong, senior advisor at the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), front row third from right, poses with participants at a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tuesday. Among the participants is Bui Anh Huan, deputy general director of the Management Authority for Urban Railways in Vietnam, front row third from left. Courtesy of Eximbank
By Lee Yeon-woo
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Wednesday that it held a final report meeting for the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) on Vietnam's railway economic development in Ho Chi Minh City.
The KSP is a knowledge-based development cooperation program that provides policy recommendations to partner countries based on Korea's economic development experience. It is supervised by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and managed by Eximbank.
The project in Vietnam was jointly promoted by Eximbank and the country's Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR). It aimed to share policy consultations on systematizing urban railway technical regulations, investment attraction strategies and stakeholder role guidelines.
At the final report meeting on Tuesday, the advising consortium led by Korea Railroad Corp. presented the results of the nine-month study and proposed policy recommendations. It also consulted with Vietnamese authorities to ensure that the recommendations could be incorporated into Ho Chi Minh's plans to construct 10 urban railway lines.
More than 50 participants attended the meeting, including Bui Anh Huan, deputy general director of MAUR, and representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, along with government officials, public institutions, academics and business representatives from both countries.
"Through this railway KSP, we were able to share Korea's advanced urban railway technologies and institutional experience, which I find very meaningful," Bui said. "It is expected to provide practical assistance in the process of building Ho Chi Minh City’s urban railway network."
"This project is expected to serve as a stepping stone for entering follow-up projects such as Vietnam's North-South high-speed railway," an Eximbank official said. "Based on these achievements, the two countries plan to further deepen their partnership in the field of Vietnam's transportation infrastructure."