A co-sponsorship agreement was signed in Hanoi on January 20 between the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The agreement aims to assist the second phase of a technical assistance programme themed “Maintaining Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Gains through WTO Commitment Implementation”, often known as the “Beyond WTO” programme.   

Following the agreement, the AusAID will sponsor AUD12 million (equivalent to VND180 billion) and the DFID will add GBP3.4 million (approximately VND105 billion). The programme will be carried out in 5 years, from September 2009 to September 2013 and it will also receive technical assistance from the World Bank.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade said that after becoming a member of the WTO, the Vietnamese Government enforced an action programme with 12 groups of measures. The programme was deployed widely by ministries, departments and localities to take full advantage of opportunities and address new challenges when joining in the WTO.

The first phase of the “Beyond WTO” programme assisted the building of an action programme for the government, ministries, departments and local authorities. Through this phase, measures were found for Vietnam to seize new opportunities.

The Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Allaster Cox, noted that the programme is important to ensure Vietnam will be in a position to take full advantage of growing trade and investment when the global downturn bottoms out.

The ambassador emphasised that while developing infrastructure and human resources, to make the best of the global economic recovery, Vietnam needs to strengthen its competitiveness, build a firm basis for attracting long-term investment and adopt suitable policies to support business development.

Besides, DFID chief representative in Vietnam, Fiona Lappin, committed to cooperation with the Vietnamese Government to ensure that the poor, in particular, are protected from the negative impact of trade liberalization and economic integration.

In the second phase, the “Beyond WTO” programme will help Vietnam implement its WTO commitments and other regional and global agreements, such as intensifying market economy mechanism in various fields including competitiveness, state-owned enterprise reform and land management, and helping rural areas cope with the impact of the economic integration process through research and analysis of opportunities in new markets.

At the signing ceremony, Vietnam’s representatives and sponsors also introduced a plan for the first year of the second phase, including 20 projects carried out from October, 2009 to December, 2010.