Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Lê Quang Mạnh. — VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ – The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ hopes to receive support from foreign organisations to help them develop.

They city is looking to learn more about topics including adapting to climate change, human resource training, smart city development and renovation work.

This statement was made by Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Lê Quang Mạnh during a working session with the World Bank (WB) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland on Monday.
The province’s leader discussed potential partnership programmes on economics, trade and urban management between Cần Thơ and the two agencies.

Mạnh said the city wanted to learn from experience and good models in administrative reform, and to perfect policies through the assistance of the WB and the SECO.
Municipal authorities are focusing on promoting economic restructuring and improving quality and competitiveness for its farm produce in regional and global markets through building key production areas and applying high technologies, and fully tapping local resources.
Mạnh said the city hopes the WB will assist in expanding markets for the locality’s agricultural products, applying new technologies in agricultural production and building brands for farm produce and goods, and accessing ordinary capital resources (OCR).
Ousmane Dione, Country Director of the WB in Việt Nam, praised the city’s economic growth as well as transition from a rural to an urban economy, saying the WB's expert group will work with local officials and technical staff to determine investment priorities and appropriate areas to serve Cần Thơ’s socio-economic development goals.
Accordingly, the WB suggested Cần Thơ take part in technical assistance projects to enhance agricultural competitiveness and hi-tech agricultural technical assistance.
The bank will also support the city in calling for and attracting corporations and enterprises to invest in production, processing and consumption of local agricultural and aquatic products; connecting businesses with cooperatives and households in the production and consumption of products.
Regarding human resources training, the WB is ready to help higher education institutions in Cần Thơ collaborate with foreign universities to expand education related to knowledge of artificial intelligence trends to apply to the e-government model.
Chief Representative of SECO in Việt Nam Marcel Reymond said Switzerland will assist in urban development in a sustainable and highly adaptable manner to climate change in Việt Nam.
 
The official said he hopes that through the budget support programmes from the SECO and the WB, Cần Thơ will play a leading role in enhancing urban resilience and scaling up models of natural disaster response to other localities in the Mekong Delta. — VNS