We are delighted to meet you through the Training Program of the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Over the past four decades, Korea has accumulated a variety of development experiences in the process of its rapid socio-economic advancement in the aftermath of the Korean War. By sharing Korea　 first-hand development experience, the Invitation of Trainees Program, now an integral part of the technical cooperation program of the Korean government, contributes to promoting human resources development of developing countries.

The objective of the training program is to provide opportunities for participants such as you to enhance your current technical and administrative skills, enabling you to apply them to your country　development.

In addition to gaining technical knowledge, while you are here you will have opportunities to deepen your understanding of the Korean people and society. We hope you will take advantage of this. Shared friendships and the exchange of ideas with participants from other countries are equally important to the goals of this program.

Welcome to Korea, the Land of Morning Calm, in advance. We trust that the program will be enriched by your presence among us and that your time with us will be most pleasant and rewarding. We look forward to seeing you soon in Seoul.

Since its establishment in 1991, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has been conducting grant aid and technical cooperation programs under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

KOICA implements two types of grants: grant aid, which includes the provision of equipment and project aid; and technical cooperation, which includes development studies, training, and the dispatch of Korean experts and Korea Overseas Volunteers.

Meanwhile, bilateral soft loans or Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loans, are managed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea. With regard to multilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Finance and Economy are responsible for contributions to U.N. organizations and subscriptions to international development banks, respectively. The ODA provided by Korea is still quite modest compared with that of other industrialized nations. However, availing of Korea status, midway between the developed and the developing countries, KOICA continues its efforts to share the experiences unique to Korea as well as better inspire partner-nations, thereby, putting our principle of Cooperation for a Better World into practice.

The primary objective of KOICA's Training Program is to help developing countries secure human resources for their economic development.

Policy makers and technical staff of developing countries are invited to learn about the development experience of Korea and to acquire new technical and managerial skills.

Based on the above-mentioned objective, KOICA has provided various types of training to a total of 9,784 participants from 154 countries since 1991. Under this program, KOICA has provided training in the following areas: policy study and development; education and vocational training; industrial and regional development; promotion of social services and global issues such as environment, population, and women in development.

Recently, KOICA is playing greater attention to the promotion of information technology (IT) and knowledge-industries in addition to the traditional areas of training. In order to provide a better training environment for participants, KOICA has also built its own training facility, the International Cooperation Training Center (ICTC), which opened on March 10, 1999.

ICTC is the major training facility of KOICA for promoting the development of international training programs and international cooperation programs as well as providing a comfortable and modern accomodations for participants.

It is located in Yeomgok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul on the southern outskirts of the City. Sited on a greenzone, you can escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy city, and can enjoy the fresh clean air and the beauty and serenity of nature in Korea.

ICTC is an eight-story building with one basement level and has an area of 7,433.34t has 84 rooms with 165 beds, a dining hall, and kitchenettes. It contains facilities for training programs, including conference rooms, lecture rooms, orientation rooms, and an auditorium, and also has subsidiary facilities such as a business center, fitness center, canteen, and an audio and video room.