Australian Embassy
Vietnam

Media Release - 11/8/2014

Australia supports Vietnam in economic restructuring and increasing competitiveness

 

Hanoi, 11 August 2014 - The Ministry of Planning and Investment in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia today held a Restructuring for a more Competitive Vietnam (RCV) Project Launch workshop.

The Project has been developed to support implementation of selected elements of the Government of Vietnam’s Master plan on economic restructuring. The Master plan looks to support the renovation of Vietnam’s growth model to increase the quality, efficiency and competitive capacity of the economy to 2020.

The Project is being implemented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and aims at achieving increased national economic competitiveness; accelerated growth in labour productivity, employment and incomes; and improved transparency in business regulation and reduced corruption.

“Economic restructuring and growth model renovation have become necessary and urgent, which should be conducted with an appropriate roadmap to achieve the goals of an intensive economic growth model in the direction of increasing the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the country”, said Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong. “In the first two years of the economic restructuring program, initial results have been achieved, however there are still many challenges. In this reform process, Vietnam needs the support of the international community, especially in learning best practices and transforming them effectively into national reforms. In this context, Vietnam received the timely and practical assistance from the Government of Australia through the RCV Project.”

“Vietnam is engaging in complex regional and international economic agreements which embody a new generation of reforms. Australia stands ready to support Vietnam in this important reform process” – said Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Hugh Borrowman. “If followed through, this will see Vietnam continue to grow in strength and stature. This is a good outcome for Vietnam, obviously, but it is also a good outcome for Australia and the region more broadly.”

The Australian government recently announced a new aid policy, focusing on the role of aid for trade and private sector development in raising the living standards of the most vulnerable in the region.

The RCV Project aligns well with Australian strategic priorities in Vietnam, including Australia’s advocacy for rules-based global trade, state enterprise reform, competition policy reform, and private sector development.

The Project will support legal and regulatory reforms to improve Vietnam’s competitiveness, which will deliver reduced business compliance costs, increased foreign investment, increased competition and productivity growth in key sectors including agricultural sector.

The initial phase of the Project is 2014-2016. Concrete results achieved from this phase and priorities of the new Social Economic Development Plan 2016-2020 will inform a possible new phase beyond 2016.

For further information, please visit the project’s website at www.rcv.gov.vn.

Key contacts:
Project Coordination Unit
Office:4th Floor, Building B, 68 Phan Dinh Phung Str.,Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: +84 (04) 37379073
E-mail: [email protected]