Visiting Senegalese President Macky Sall met with a South Korean provincial governor Thursday, seeking ways for cooperation in Seoul’s community development program known as “Saemaul.”
South Korea launched Saemaul, the New Community Movement, in the 1970s, which focused on rural development to expedite the impoverished country’s industrialization.
The meeting was held at a Seoul hotel between the Senegalese President Sall, who was in the city for a four-day visit, and Kim Kwan-yong, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province.
As part of the program, the provincial government has dispatched volunteers to two villages in the Saint-Louis region of the western African nation since 2012 to help modernize its rural areas and grow its economy.
“The (Senegalese) government will actively seek more cooperation,” President Sall said during the meeting.
In response, Kim said that the provincial government will strive to help developing rural areas of Senegal through the globalization of Saemaul,
The governor also said the province will later invite Senegalese public officials to the country to share their experiences on the project. (Yonhap)
