At the workshop, H.E. Mr. Nguyễn Thế Phương, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said: “The development cooperation of the two countries has utilized the advantages and experiences of Switzerland on development such as decentralization and local planning that significantly contributed to the implementation of the Vietnam’s Government policy on the promotion of grassroots democracy. Our collaboration was diverse and profound, spanning over many areas: education, capacity building, vocational training, management, public administration reforms, city development plan, rural livelihoods, forestry and environment protection, etc.”
In 1992, when SDC started its bilateral program in Vietnam, Vietnam was a very poor country with a poverty rate of nearly 60% and the country’s ambitious Doi Moi process started getting its momentum. The SDC - Vietnamese cooperation covers a period of remarkable change and rapid development in all aspects of Vietnamese society. Vietnam became a lower middle-income country in 2010, reducing the poverty rate to less than 13% in 2015.
SDC was proud to support the Doi Moi process. SDC has been active in the priority areas of Vietnam’s development plans as confirmed by the Vice-Minister of MPI.
From 1992 to 2016, SDC has invested more than 216 million CHF in grants through 32 programs. SDC program activities in Vietnam which are part of SDC’s overall engagement in the frame of its Mekong Region Program, are estimated to have reached 4.6 to 6.8 million people. Mr. Steven Geiger, Head of the SDC program in Vietnam, said: “SDC is very satisfied with the outcomes of the bilateral SDC-Vietnam collaboration over the past 25 years”. The SDC program has delivered several important achievements.
SDC’s overarching goal is poverty alleviation. All SDC projects directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement of this goal. SDC received a merit award by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for its financial and technical support that contributed to sustainable forest management as well as to improved living conditions of the poor people, whose livelihoods depend on the forest. In the period 2000-2007, SDC was among the first development partners who raised and addressed issues of urban poverty within its urban development program.
From the mid-2000s, SDC focused programs on rural, poor areas in the North of Vietnam with high populations of ethnic minorities. By improving the quality of products and access to markets, the value chains projects supported enabled the poor and ethnic minorities to increase their income and improve their living conditions.
