Published:  00:00 Wednesday - September 16, 2009

Vietnam is willing to share its experience in rural craft villages with Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.

Receiving Norihiko Hiramatsu, Chairman of the Japan Association of One Village, One Product, in Hanoi on September 15, the deputy PM said that the Vietnamese government always places importance on agriculture, rural area and rural people.

Vietnam is in the process of modernisation and industrialisation, expecting to give a new look to rural areas, he said, adding that careful attention is being paid to infrastructural improvement, agricultural encouragement and craft village development.

Norihiko Hiramatsu said he wished to exchange experiences with Vietnam in developing craft villages as Vietnam possesses valuable traditional products.

He stressed that the “One Village, One Product” movement is an effective instrument to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, rural areas and urban areas.

It has not only helped encourage the production of characteristically local products but also contributed to preserving traditional values, he added.

Under the movement, one village produces one competitive and staple product as a business to earn sales revenue to improve the living standard of local inhabitants.

The movement, which originated from Oita prefecture, where Norihiko Hiramatsu was Governor for 24 years, has helped the locality increase its production output two-or three-fold, and quadrupled the prefecture’s revenues, he said.