Huge Potential for Vietnam- Ireland Cooperation

On the occasion of the visit to Vietnam on 13-18 of March, Mr Conor Lenihan, the Irish Minister for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources said that he has been very impressed by the obvious rapid pace of development of Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Business Forum Magazine has an interview with him on the cooperation expansion between the two countries’ Central and local Governments and the private sector.

Part of your visit focuses on the cooperative programme named Vietnam Ireland Business Forum (VIBF) to be held in HCMC on April 15 and 16. Could you talk about it?

VIBF is one of several collaborative projects being implemented by Ireland and Vietnam on a Government-to-Government basis, officially launched last year in Hanoi. VIBF is managed by Enterprise Ireland in cooperation with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Vietnam Software Association (VINASA).

The Forum is designed to enhance business environment and the growth of private sector in Vietnam by bringing Irish companies and technologies to Vietnam market, establishing partnerships between our companies in a win-win deal. In addition, VIBF is part of the IDEAS programme, a bilateral initiative between Ireland and Vietnam, which aims to make relevant Irish enterprise development and related experience and expertise available to Vietnam, with the aim of strengthening private sector capacity in Vietnam.

This also includes the provision of 5 MBA and 5 other relevant masters’ level business courses to qualified Vietnamese candidates.

The VIBF 2010 is planned to hold the second section in HCMC on April 15 and 16, 2010. It is expected to attract 10 Irish companies and 50 Vietnamese executives and entrepreneurs. As I know, four of the companies that participated in the first VIBF in Hanoi are hoping to conclude agreements in Vietnam in the coming months. Now I am hopeful that the upcoming VIBF will produce a similar number of partnerships.

What can you talk about the cooperation in science & technology?

Ireland is well-known for its strengths in Information Communication Technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The VIBF that I mentioned before is designed to create partnerships between Irish Technology companies and local companies. We expect a number of joint ventures to emerge in the coming years from this programme. While it is currently focused on ICT sectors, in the coming years other sectors will be involved.

Until recently there has been very little investment by Irish companies in Vietnam. But I am pleased to say that this is changing. In the past nine months, three Irish technology companies have invested in HCMC. I expect that in the coming years we will see increasing investment by Irish companies in Vietnam.

Could you please reveal how Ireland could help Vietnam in training ICT personnel?

In science & technology, we have a very important research partnership between Ireland and Vietnam on blood-borne viruses, supported by Irish Aid and Atlantic Philanthropies. Some very important epidemiological research has been carried out as part of this project, in collaboration between the National Virus reference laboratory in University College Dublin and National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Hanoi, (NIHE).

In addition, I understand that a number of Irish Universities, including University College Dublin, are actively developing relationships with Universities and Institutes in Vietnam which will involve greater cooperation on science and technology.

In the last VIBF which brought six Irish ICT companies with potential Vietnamese partners, the feedback from Irish participants has been very positive.

As I mentioned above, we are organizing the second VIBF next month. The Enterprise Ireland this time will bring 10 ICT companies to seek partnerships with local companies. And on 16^th, April, we also organize a symposium at RMIT Ho Chi Minh City Campus, where two of our successful senior entrepreneurs will share their experiences with local entrepreneurs. On the energy side, ESB International, an Irish state owned company, has been active in power sector for many years, since the early 1990s. At present, ESB International involved in 2 power plant construction projects in Vietnam. The company has trained and sponsored the education of a number of Vietnamese engineers.

Vietnam is included in the list of priority countries receiving Irish aid, how do you evaluate the effectiveness of Irish funded development projects in Vietnam?

Vietnam is a priority country of Irish Aid. As a former Minister for development cooperation, I am only too well aware of the challenges of delivering effective development assistance programmes, in a way which ensures the best outcomes for the poor, while minimizing the risks to Irish taxpayers’ money. In partnership with the government of Vietnam, our goals are to strengthen the delivery of basic services and social protection to vulnerable people, particularly the rural poor, ethnic minorities, people with disability and people living with HIV and AIDS; to promote social transition and private sector growth; and to strengthen systems which enhance state accountability to citizens.

Our programme is rigorously monitored, evaluated and audited and I am proud to say that I represent good value for money, is demonstrating results and is on track to make a positive difference to a great many poor people in Vietnam.

Of course, Vietnam continues to face many economic and social challenges, and difficult reforms and decisions lie ahead, particularly in sustaining the remarkable progress made on poverty reduction as you move towards Middle Income Country status. We hope that Ireland, as a development partner which itself has experienced rapid economic and social transition in the past for decades, can support you in this period of rapid change.

What is the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Ireland?

Quite honestly, I feel the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Ireland is huge and, working with the Government of Vietnam, we intend to support such cooperation. Everything I have mentioned already, the IVVI (The Ireland Vietnam Blood Borne Virus Initiative), The IDEAS Programme, the VIBF are all part of this process and we will continue to build on these initiatives in the coming years.

In the future, Ireland needs to be very active in following business opportunities in Asia and to do this we need local partners-and I believe we will find these partners in Vietnam.

VCCI

Posted by VBN on Mar 25 2010. Filed under Int'l Cooperation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry