Vietnam Bolsters Relationship with International Trade Centre

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai speaks at the 57th session of the International Trade Centre’s Joint Advisory Group on July 20. Photo: VNA

Vietnam Strengthen Ties with International Trade Centre

Addressing the recent 57th session of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) Joint Advisory Group, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai highly valued the ITC’s assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) over the past years. The ITC has supported these businesses in their digital transformation, green transition, access to foreign markets, and trade facilitation. Vietnam hopes to further strengthen its ties with the ITC based on the trade and development achievements it has made during its transformation from an underdeveloped country to a lower-middle-income country. This statement was cited by VietnamPlus.

Vietnam is actively working towards implementing a climate change response strategy and transitioning to a circular economy. According to Ambassador Mai, green growth is not only a necessary choice but also an opportunity for Vietnam to align with global development trends and achieve the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai (third from right) and ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton at a meeting on July 14. Photo: VNA

As a part of the new ITC project titled “Climate competitiveness: Building opportunities in the green economy for emerging and developing countries”, funded by the European Union for 2023 – 2026, Vietnam and other participating countries aim to capitalize on the assistance provided by the ITC. The project will help them adjust their policies and trade practices for climate change adaptation, as well as discuss trade and environmental issues at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote trade and sustainable development.

Vietnam has been an active member of the ITC since 2007 and appreciates the contributions made by the ITC and other sponsors in providing technical support and capacity building projects for its MSMEs. The Vietnam – ITC partnership has seen positive developments through various pilot projects implemented by the center.

The 57th session of the ITC’s Joint Advisory Group, which was a hybrid event, reviewed the center’s performance in 2022 and provided recommendations for its future activities.

An overview of the 57th session of the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre in Geneva. Photo: International Trade Centre

ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton stated that the center disbursed over $150 million for projects in 130 countries in 2022, the highest-ever amount. The ITC-funded projects helped more than 27,000 small businesses improve their competitiveness, including 10,000 women-led businesses.

During a meeting with Ambassador Mai before the session, Coke-Hamilton praised Vietnam as an excellent partner of the ITC in implementing projects in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam is currently implementing several ITC-supported programs and services to enhance the export competitiveness and trade promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. These include the SheTrades Initiative, the Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) project, and the Green2Compete project, as reported by VOV.

The ITC is running nine projects in Vietnam, the highest number among ASEAN member countries.