Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ (R) receives Michael Greene, USAID Director, in Hà Nội yesterday. — Photo VGP

HÀ NỘI – Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ has applauded the contributions made by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Việt Nam’s socio-economic development as well as national management.
At a reception for Michael Greene, USAID Director, in Hà Nội yesterday, the Deputy PM highlighted the agency’s humanitarian aid to Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims and dioxin remediation in the country, along with its projects on HIV/AIDS prevention, climate change response and settlement of natural disaster and post-war consequences.
Michael Greene said USAID has cooperated with Việt Nam for many years, through projects that provide technical support in the fields of national management and economic development.
The agency is designing two projects worth more than US$50 million in non-refundable aid, aiming to help Việt Nam implement a programme on trade facilitation and supporting Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in the global supply chain, he noted.
In this regard, Deputy PM Huệ stressed the Vietnamese Government’s consistent policy of strongly improving the domestic business environment to encourage investment.
He urged experts and officials from USAID to team up with officials of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance to identify the contents of the USAID-funded project.
The Vietnamese Government also wishes to promote the private economic sector, connecting SMEs as well as Vietnamese firms with their foreign counterparts, Hue said.
He said the Ministry of Planning and Investment will be assigned to develop a framework for the aforementioned project.
The projects selected by USAID are suitable with Việt Nam’s current needs, Hue said, adding that the Vietnamese Government welcomes and will assign relevant ministries and agencies to implement the project effectively. — VNS