During his four day visit to Vietnam, Minister of State for International Development in the United Kingdom - Sir Alan Duncan signed a document on amendment to the Development Partnership Arrangement. The document was signed in Hanoi on May 26 between Mr Alan Duncan and the Minister of Planning and Investment, Mr Vo Hong Phuc.
According to this document, the United Kingdom will provide Vietnam with £70 million (US$114 million) in non-refundable aid from now to 2015. The objective is to support Vietnam in meeting the Millennium Development Goals; achieve strong growth that is led by the private sector, and strengthen efforts to tackle corruption and enhance accountability. This amendment comes only a few months after the launch of the Strategic Partnership between the two Governments in September 2010.
The UK Minister of State also took this opportunity to announce that UK would take the lead from Sweden on anticorruption. This role entails coordination of development partners to engage with and provide support to the Government in its efforts to tackle corruption.
"I am very happy to have this second visit to Vietnam in just one year, and was impressed once again to see Vietnam in a dynamic resurgence." – Sir Alan Duncan said: "Since the previous visit to Vietnam until now, the United Kingdom and Vietnam have signed the Strategic Partnership declaration, bringing bilateral relations to the highest. Today, I am very pleased to agree with the Government of Vietnam about the relationship of development cooperation in the next five years. The commitment to aid in the document of adjusting Agreement Development Partnership today, along with the new role for Britain to become donor coordination in the fight against corruption has clarified the importance that the British put in the bilateral relationship with Vietnam. We hope to cooperate more closely with the government of Vietnam to implement the priorities which have been set out."
During this visit, the UK Minister of State has also conducted high-level meetings with the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to discuss the importance of bilateral relations between the two countries, met the Deputy General Inspector Tran Duc Luong on the UK's support for Vietnam in the field of anti-corruption. In addition, he also spent two days to visit two British aid projects in Vietnam, including washing coffee Robusta project in Dak Lak province which belonged to the program of improving market efficiency for the poor, and the field trials project Vetiver against coastal erosion in Phu Yen province, belonged to the Vietnam innovative day program. This field trip helped the Nations secretary to see, with his own eyes, the effectiveness of programs, funded by the British, to the poor in Vietnam.
In 2006, Vietnam and Britain signed a partnership agreement of development partnership for 10 years. By 2011, the United Kingdom, through the Ministry of International Development, has aided £ 380 million non-refund for Vietnam through a bilateral aid program. In addition, from 2006 until now, the UK has supported £19 million to Vietnam for debt relief through the multilateral debt relief initiative, to support the humanitarian relief efforts.
In March this year, according to the results of the evaluation program of bilateral aid, the United Kingdom claims the aid for Vietnam would end in 2016, the same time with the ending of the agreement of the development partnership. Until that time, the UK will continue to support Vietnam in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the areas of primary education, environmental sanitation, anti-HIV / AIDS, focusing efforts on the important issues emerging as climate change, governance, trade and investment.
Le Phuong
Vietnamese
