Sharing Saemaul
On June 4, North Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kwan-yong met Senegalese President Macky Sall at Lotte Hotel Seoul to exchange opinions and seek ways for cooperation in the community development program known as the "Saemaul Movement” in North Gyeongsang Province.
President Sall is currently visiting Korea at the invitation of President Park Geun-hye from June 3 to 7. Because of his special interest in the Saemaul movement, Sall insisted on a meeting with Governor Kim.
During the meeting, President Sall said that there are favorable responses and interest in on-going projects run by the provincial government. As part of the program, It has dispatched volunteers to two villages in the Saint-Louis region of the western African nation since 2013 to help modernize its rural areas. He also said that the government will actively seek further cooperation.
In response, Governor Kim said that the provincial government will invite Senegalese public officials to the country to share their experiences of the Saemaul movement. He also said that it will make efforts to help developing rural areas of Senegal.
Senegal is a country with a population of 120 million that set up diplomatic relations with Korea in 1962. The country is also continuously growing into an exemplary democracy in Africa.
President Sall is paying attention to Korea, which has grown from the world’s poorest country to one of economic power of the OECD in half a century. In particular, he has a keen interest in the Saemaul movement, also called the New Community Movement, which focuses on rural development to expedite the impoverished country's industrialization.