On January 2, the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) established the Center for International Agricultural Partnership (CIAP, Director: Heo Jang) to conduct researches and projects in the fields of global agricultural cooperation and overseas agricultural development, and play a networking role such as information exchange among international agricultural cooperation organizations.

The CIAP will be in charge of researches on global agricultural cooperation and related projects including the Korean Agricultural Policy Experiences for Food Security (KAPEX) program. It will also conduct researches related to overseas agricultural development and policy support activities. In addition, it is expected to contribute to outcomes of agricultural development cooperation projects and efficient budget implementation, establishing evaluation models of international agricultural development cooperation, the globalization of the Saemaul movement, and overseas agricultural development projects.

Furthermore, the CIAP will provide a place on and offline for exchange, partnership and networking among the institutions related to international agricultural cooperation including the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, its affiliated organizations, related institutions, universities, and research institutes. Therefore, it is expected to promote information sharing among the institutions, and play an important role in improving the effectiveness of global agricultural cooperation projects of Korea.

Moreover, the center will prepare the introduction of the program for fostering global experts that the KREI is carrying forward in the long term, and develop contents, thus contributing to fostering professionals in agricultural development cooperation.