PRESS RELEASE

November 16, 2006

Vietnam and the United States Sign Landmark 9 Million Dollar USAID Agreement Supporting Vietnam’s Economic Reform Agenda

On 16 November, Vietnam, represented by the Vice Chairman of the Office of the Government, the Honorable Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy, and the United States, represented by the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, the Honorable Michael Marine, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide new policy and capacity building assistance to Vietnam.  The signing, which took place at the Office of Government, will support Vietnam’s continued economic development and integration into the global economy.  

The MOU extends the United States Agency for International Development’s highly successful STAR-Vietnam (Support for Trade Acceleration) project.  That project has been a primary resource of the Government of Vietnam in implementing the requirements of the US Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and supporting Vietnam’s historic accession to the World Trade Organization.

For the past five years USAID has worked closely with the Office of the Government in providing economic and legal expertise in all phases of Vietnam’s legal and policy reform agenda as well as in strengthening the Government’s institutional capacity to implement those reforms.  Senior officials in both governments have expressed their high regard for this strategic collaboration and the key role that USAID technical assistance to Vietnam has played.

The Office of the Government is the overall manager of this assistance.  It presides over a senior inter-ministerial Steering Committee of 47 different ministries and agencies and works closely with the National Assembly that sets the legislative reform agenda.  This coordinating Steering Committee focuses on areas related to the BTA where international best practices would support Vietnam’s strategic vision of maximizing the benefits of WTO accession and creating a modern economy.   Complementing this effort, USAID is also providing assistance to US Government agencies such the Securities & Exchange Commission, the US Patent & Trade Office and the US Federal Trade Commission to develop collaborative relationships with their Vietnamese counterparts.  

The new assistance under this MOU funds a Support for Trade Acceleration II project (STAR II) which will assist the GVN’s continuing efforts in implementing the remaining commitments in the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) as well as the additional requirements in the WTO Protocol.  It will also provide specialized economic and legal training essential to strengthen Vietnam’s management of the economy.   Finally, it will work with the government and other donors to conduct selected economic policy analyses of the effects of WTO accession to better understand and address the adjustment needs of those sectors most affected economically and socially.
 
The partners in the effort are the United States Agency for International Development and the central government represented by the Office of the Government (OOG) along with participating implementing agencies of the Government of Vietnam.  These include ministries, agencies, the National Assembly as well as the court system.  The project is planned for a first phase of three years with the provision for a possible extension for two additional years.

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