Promoting cooperation between Vietnam and British NGOs

According to VNA correspondent in London, on April 3, a seminar on “How British non-governmental organizations can support Vietnam’s socio -economic development” was held at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK in London under the chairmanship of Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long.

Photo caption — *Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long speaks at the seminar. Photo: Hai Van*

Taking place within the framework of the Vietnam Days in the UK program from March 28 to April 27 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UK and Vietnam, the seminar discussed the activities and challenges of British non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Vietnam. Representatives of British NGOs attending the seminar shared the reasons for coming to Vietnam, the challenges in operating in Vietnam and at the same time proposed recommendations to support the activities of these organizations as well as solutions to support Vietnam in the process of socio-economic development, especially in the fields of health, science and technology, climate change, support for poor communities and ethnic minorities, empowerment of women and girls, etc. Speaking at the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long highly appreciated the contributions of NGOs in general and British NGOs in particular to the development process of Vietnam. Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized that people-to-people diplomacy is an important area in the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership, especially when the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023 with many people-to-people diplomacy activities. The Ambassador affirmed that the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK is always ready to be a bridge and support British NGOs in their activities in Vietnam. Attending the online discussion from Hanoi, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Giang, Head of the European Department, Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, also emphasized the importance of NGOs in people-to-people diplomacy, playing the role of ambassadors connecting Vietnam with the world.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Peter Lidgard, Chairman of Medical & Scientific Aid for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (MSAVLC) highly appreciated the support of the Vietnamese government, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) and partners in Vietnam in supporting the organization's activities. He affirmed that this support as well as the courage, openness, honesty, friendliness and tolerance of the Vietnamese people are a driving force for MSAVLC - established in 1965 to provide medicine and medical equipment to Vietnam - to continue operating in Vietnam even though the war ended many years ago. Discussing the challenges in operating in Vietnam, Mr. Srikaran Srivivekanandarajah, Director of Development Program in the UK, Plan International, said that the reduction of funding and aid from the government is directly affecting Plan International's programs in Vietnam. In addition, a difficulty for the organization when implementing projects in Vietnam is the lengthy project approval process for new aid projects, affecting the progress of project implementation. He emphasized that Plan International has worked with ministries in Vietnam to speed up this process, but so far this is still a major challenge, pointing out that because Plan International's funded projects are time-bound, the lengthy project approval process means that the project implementation time is shortened, leading to the project not using up all the funds when the project implementation period ends. Mr. Srivivekanandarajah also said that the impact of global challenges such as climate change and economic downturns is increasingly affecting lower-middle income countries and Vietnam is no exception, pointing out that inequality is affecting vulnerable groups, especially young people who are affected by poverty, human trafficking and gender-based violence. This is a challenge that Plan International is working to address.

Ms. Olivia Hearn, Executive Director of the Christian Noble Children's Foundation, said that although Vietnam has achieved great achievements in poverty reduction, there are still many challenges, especially the participation of young people in the country's poverty reduction. Ms. Olivia Hearn said that it is necessary to promote efforts to support poor communities and ethnic minority communities to access education and health care to improve their lives, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between communities, NGOs, donors and the government to achieve this goal. Ms. Hearn appreciated the support of the Vietnamese government in the activities of NGOs and hoped that NGOs would continue to receive this support so that they could effectively implement projects in Vietnam, contributing to solving many new challenges of the country. Ms. Elizabeth Wells, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, also agreed that it is necessary to promote cooperation between Vietnamese and British partners, especially British organizations and businesses operating in Vietnam, to properly meet the support needs of the communities. At the end of the discussion, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long presented certificates recognizing the contributions of British NGOs to Vietnam.