An Examplary Cooperation Program between Vietnam and the US

Under a series of events on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam, on 18 November 2006, the US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, accompanied by prestigious American corporations such as Qualcomm, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and EVN-Telecom, paid a visit to an information technology (IT) training center for communities based in Bac Ninh province to examine the progress as well as the effectiveness of TOPIC64 (Training Online Partnership for Information Technology for Communities in 64 Provinces).

 

TOPIC64 is a program aimed at developing sustainable IT training centers in 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam. According to Ms. Molly Gavin, Manager in International Government Affairs at QUALCOMM (one of TOPIC64 donors) said that TOPIC64’s main objective was to provide the best learning opportunities for the people through training of IT skills and 3G Wireless Hi-speed Internet.

By now, TOPIC64 has provided training for 2.660 learners at 15 participating centers which receive funding from the program in the first phase, and more than 11,000 learners at 200 affiliate centers. It is estimated that by 2007, 60,000 learners and 1,000 teachers will have participated in TOPIC64. In addition to the commitment of providing free training for disadvantaged groups, these centers have also received support and advice to provide training courses that cater to specific market needs, internet services and value-added technologies in order to secure sustainable income for their long-term activities.

 

Mr. Dennis Zvinakis, USAID Country Manager for Vietnam, said: “This is a project supported by the American people through the US Agency for International Development whose task is to improve the quality of life of the Vietnamese people.” According the US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, TOPIC64 represents a meaningful example of Vietnam-US relations.