(VOVworld) – Cooperation between Vietnam and NGOs has been very effective, especially in the past decade, and has ended on the basis of equality and mutual respect. This has been reflected in the value of aid disbursement and the numbers of programs and projects initiated between Vietnam and foreign NGOs, which have contributed significantly to the country’s socio—economic development.
Representatives from around 800 foreign NGOs and international organizations agreed at the 3^rd international meeting in Hanoi on Thursday to review cooperation between Viet Nam and non-governmental organizations over the past decade and define the priorities for cooperation in future. They noted that although Vietnam had become a middle-income country, it was still facing many difficulties and challenges in terms of economics, the after-effects of war, and the impacts of climate change. NGOs pledged to continue to support Vietnam to develop more sustainably, targeting the poor and vulnerable communities.
Andy Baker, director of Oxfarm Vietnam, said: "Oxfarm’s new strategy in Vietnam will have 4 key pillars. One of them will be about rural livelihoods, particularly in terms of value chains. The second is about how we can help communities to be more resilient in the face of climate change, and increasing natural disasters. A third area is working in gender justice, in how we can help the women of Vietnam to have greater shares of benefits of the growth of the country, to be less at risk, and to be less impacted by negative stereotypes about the roles the women and girls should play in society."

Since 2004, NGO Fontana has been active in Vietnam to prevent and combat Addiction, HIV/AIDS and CSA, by introducing evidence based treatment methods. Photo: internet

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh praised the effective cooperation between NGOs and Vietnam. He expressed his hope that NGOs would further expand their operations in Vietnam and continue to support Vietnam in further improving people’s living conditions.
"I hope that the NGOs will strengthen their cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of expertise and in line with Vietnamese law. We call on your coordination with Vietnam’s local authorities and agencies to devise practical plans targeting socio-economic development, poverty reduction, job generation, healthcare and education improvement, epidemic prevention, environmental protection, and addressing the consequences of war. This can be achieved with more long-term integrated projects and sustainable aid resources, and by improving the knowledge and skills of Vietnamese people working in development and poverty reduction, as well as for all ordinary people." said Minh.

Within the meeting’s framework, delegates took part in 8 seminars dealing with healthcare, education, poverty reduction, vocational training and job generation, and post-war issues such as unexploded mines and ordnance, the still-active issue of Agent/Orange and climate change. They said they valued their achievements in cooperation with Vietnam while reviewing challenges and lessons learnt, thereby defining appropriate measures to improve the exchange of information and more efficient cooperation between the two sides.