Hanoi (VNA) – The “One Commune One Product” (OCOP) international fairwill take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, Ho Chi MinhCity from April 17-20, with a wide range of excellent handicraft products ondisplay.

Head of the OCOP programme management office Dang Van Cuong said that theevent, held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development incollaboration with the Vietnam Handicraft Exporter Association (Vietcraft), andJapan’s “One Village One Product” (OVOP) programme, will feature 600 pavilionsfrom cities and provinces across the nation.

Furthermore,it will attract the participation of representatives from the OCOP programme in20 countries and territories like Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, China,and Kenya, among others.

According to Cuong, the event aims to popularise made-in-Vietnam handicraft andnew designs by Vietnamese handicraft villages among domestic and internationalfriends, while promoting trade connections between Vietnamese localities andforeign partners.

At the same time, a forum connecting the OCOP global network will be organised,drawing the attendance of state managers, import and export firms from 30countries and territories, as well as international organisations in Vietnam.It is expected to serve as a venue to enhance cooperation between countriescarrying out the OVOP or OCOP programmes and promote them across the fivecontinents.

Vietnam initiated the expansion of the OCOP network to the world. To date, 43 countrieshave approved the OCOP programme, 20 of whom have joined the network.

The OCOP programme is being carried out in all localities across Vietnam for the2018-2020 period, aiming to promote rural economic development towardincreasing internal strengths and values. It focuses on developing highpotential agricultural and non-agricultural products, and services in each localitybased on the value chain.

Groups of goods andservices defined in the programme include food (fresh and processed farm produce);beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinking); medicinal herbs (productsmade from herbal plants); fabric and textiles (products made from cotton andyarn); souvenirs, furniture, and decorations (products made from wood, fiber,rattan, metal, and ceramics); and rural tourism services and sales (servicesfor sightseeing, tourism, study, research).

The programme is implemented at an estimated cost of 45 trillion VND (1.94billion USD), which will mostly be mobilised by society, including enterprises,cooperatives, and production households; as well as loans from creditinstitutions, investment funds, SME development funds, funds for developingcooperatives; and funding from international organisations. –VNA