EC provides aid to reduce poverty in Vietnam

The European Commission (EC) on May 25 provided 44 million EUR (60 million USD) in non-refundable aid for Vietnam to implement its socio-economic development plans during the 2006 – 2010 period.

The Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc and the Director for Asia at the EC’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office, Dirk Meganck, signed a financial agreement from the European Poverty Reduction Support Programme (EPRSP) in Hanoi .

The non-refundable aid is part of the EC’s 304 million EUR fund which aims to support Vietnam from 2007 to 2013.

It is also part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers 7, 8 and 9 (PRSP 7-8-9) that provides aid worth more than 700 million EUR from sponsors in the EU and via the EU to the Vietnamese government.

The sum will be delivered to the State budget to support the government’s policy reform programmes that focus on reducing poverty and developing health and education.

Vietnam navigates slowdown better than others: WB official

On the advantages and disadvantages of Vietnam, Sarah said the country has made great strides to integrate commercially with the global economy, to the point where its exports represent about 70 percent of its GDP.

A senior official of the World Bank (WB) has confirmed that Vietnam is navigating the slowdown better than others in East Asia and the Pacific region.

Sarah F. Cliffe, the Director of the WB Strategy and Operations for the East Asia and Pacific Region, told the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent on the sidelines of the 15th International Conference on “the Future of Asia” that has ended in Tokyo, Japan.

On the advantages and disadvantages of Vietnam, Sarah said the country has made great strides to integrate commercially with the global economy, to the point where its exports represent about 70 percent of its GDP.

The WB official emphasised that the nation is still at an early stage in its financial development, which means that its commercial banks are not exposed to the "toxic" assets through which the current global crisis started. It is a mixed picture, with vulnerability stemming from the trade front and not so much from the financial front, Sarah said.

Although Vietnam faced macroeconomic turbulence of its own almost one year ahead of the current global crisis such as asset price bubbles and a large trade deficit, the Vietnamese government was determined in its policy response to this turbulence, and over a period of barely six months successfully stabilized the economy, she said.

“Such a determined stance put Vietnam in a better position to navigate the global crisis,” Sarah said. She added that Vietnam’s commercial banks had been subject to enhanced supervision, and had been required to increase their minimum capital by the end of 2008, which made them more resilient.

Apart from these strengths, Sarah said that the country’s stock market was down substantially, which reduced the value of assets held by foreign investors.

The WB official predicted that the Southeast Asian nation would experience a serious slowdown, but not a crisis, citing that in the first four months of the year, the country’s exports have gone up or down by only a few percentage points compared to the same period last year. While throughout the region, declines have been in the double digits.

International organisations predict Vietnam would record a growth rate of 3.5 to 5.5 percent of GDP for 2009.

“This would be clearly below Vietnam's potential, but it would still represent a solid performance given the global environment,” she stressed.

Banquet marks African Day in Vietnam

Eight African Ambassadors to Vietnam held a ceremonial dinner in Hanoi on May 25 to celebrate the 46th African Day.

Algerian Ambassador Naceur Boucherit, head of the African diplomatic corps, said that the event was not just of important significance to African people, but also an opportunity to cement friendship and solidarity between African nations and Vietnam.

“Vietnam and Africa have a lot in common, making it ideal for them to boost cooperation, exchange experiences and help each other to develop and integrate globally,” said the African diplomat.

He expressed his thanks to Vietnam for its assistance and special cooperation  programme with Africa.

“I believe that friendship and cooperation between Africa and Vietnam will certainly continue to develop in the future,” he concluded.

His view was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, who emphasised that African countries and Vietnam should gear up cooperation in each other’s strengths to be able to support each other better in areas such as agriculture, energy, education and healthcare.

“Vietnamese and African relations should be developed further to achieve more success, based on their previous experiences of cooperation as well as the efforts being made by their governments and peoples,” said Nhan passionately.

Dutch artists help disabled children in Quang Tri Province

Four artists from the Sophia Foundation of Netherlands and the Dutch Healthcare Committee worked with Central Quang Tri provincial School of Children with disabilities to implement a programme on the source of creativeness on May 24.

The programme is intended to use arts as a tool to develop thinking and social skills for disabled children.

On May 25 and 26, the artists will organise a training workshop on the methods and skills to implement the programme for 10 teachers of the school and two students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanity of the Hanoi National University.

From May 27-June 4, the artists and the trainees will help 50 disabled children of the school to build their own works of art to be exhibited later on June 5.

Quang Tri is one of the provinces that have the largest number of disabled people in the country. Over the past years, the Dutch Healthcare Committee has helped the disabled in the province to integrate into the community through sports and art activities.

VietNamNet/VNA

 Please send us your comments and feedback: