Switzerland economic development cooperation for Vietnam focusses on promoting conducive economic framework conditions and strengthening the private sector’s competitiveness.
Themes
Thematic priority 1: Promoting market-oriented and reliable economic framework conditions
Growth-promoting economic policy
Contribute to an effective, transparent allocation and use of public resources, and support to sound and diversified financial markets
Switzerland supports an efficient and transparent Public Financial Management (PFM) system. Support focusses mostly at provinces and cities, which receive more financial autonomy in the course of decentralization. Assistance under this business line also aims at modernizing and deepening Vietnam’s financial sector and capital markets.
Project examples
Vietnam Strengthening Banking Sector Soundness and Development (PDF, 2 Pages, 327.7 kB, English)
Innovation-friendly business environment
Support the development of a conducive framework for SMEs to foster innovation and environmental and social responsibilities.
Rules-based trade system
Build quality assurance systems in line with WTO and FTA commitments and apply international labor standards
SECO aims at improving the framework conditions for a rules-based trade system and implementing internationally recognized technical standards and quality assurance systems.
Urban development and infrastructure services
Promote needs-based, efficient and sustainable urban development and strengthen climate disaster resilience
Switzerland will support the national government and provincial and city authorities in improving the quality of urban planning and management, based on an integrated, multi-sectoral and multi-level approach and applying digital solutions.
Project examples
Can Tho Urban Development and Resilience Project (PDF, 2 Pages, 541.8 kB, English)
Thematic priority 2: Enhancing the private sector’s competitiveness and market access
Access to financing
Foster effective and inclusive financial and capital markets which provide affordable financing to SMEs.
The focus will be on supporting SMEs to tap into diversified sources of finance and to assist the financial sector in promoting innovative and digital financial services.
Integration in value chains
Support local SMEs to strengthen competitiveness, meet quality standards and integrate in international markets
SECO will reinforce the provision of trade promotion services for SMEs, and further the development of business relations between local suppliers and export companies or multinational buyers. The support under this business line also aims at helping SMEs to meet social, environmental and quality standards, to diversify export and sales channels and incentivize innovation.
Project examples
SwissTrade project (PDF, 2 Pages, 185.6 kB, English)
Eco-industrial Parks project (EIP) (PDF, 2 Pages, 186.7 kB, English)
Market-oriented skills
Developing cutting-edge skills to upgrade business productivity in line with the needs of the labor markets and the requirements of digitalization
For instance through the provision of peer-to-peer expertise for entrepreneurs, peer-training by successful businesses, expert advice on startup financing, and the establishment of connections of Vietnamese entrepreneurs to the Swiss entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Transversal themes
Gender equality and Climate and resource efficiency are Transversal themes. SECO fosters gender equality for instance by improving labor participation and working conditions in sectors with high female representation (e.g. textile). Climate change adaptation and mitigation is addressed by supporting fast-growing cities to increase their resilience to climate change related risks.
Addressing economic challenges related to COVID-19
Through its Cooperation Program, Switzerland is committed to assist Vietnam in addressing pandemic-related economic challenges. The assistance of SECO already focusses on many critical areas in the crisis response as, for instance, the public financial management, the financial sector stability and urban disaster risk management. In response to the further aggravating of the pandemic, Switzerland is screening its ongoing activities in order to even further strengthen their crisis response focus and to build-in lessons learned from the pandemic. In general, the impact of the crisis and the strengthening of the economic resilience will remain an integral part of the cooperation over the coming years. The objective is to build a better and more resilient economy
