Vietnam increases cooperation with International Trade Centre
Vietnam highly appreciates the role the International Trade Centre (ITC) plays in supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in digital and green transformation as well as in accessing foreign markets and promoting trade.
Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations, World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva, was speaking during the 57th session of the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Center held recently in Geneva.
Vietnam wishes to strengthen cooperation with the ITC in the near future, through promoting the country’s trade and development achievements in the transition from a less developed country to a middle-income economy, said Mai.
She briefed participating delegates on Vietnam’s efforts in implementing its climate change response and circular economy strategy, saying green growth is not only an inevitable choice, but also an opportunity for the country to grasp the world’s development trends and realize the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
That Vietnam and other countries involving in the new ITC project entitled “Climate competitiveness: Building opportunities in a green economy for emerging and developing countries”, funded by the European Union (EU) for 2023-2026, will create favourable conditions to garner support for adjusting trade policies and practices to adapt to climate change, as well as to engage in discussions on trade and the environment at the World Trade Organization aimed at facilitating trade and sustainable development goals, said the ambassador.
She thanked the ITC and the donor community for their technical assistance and capacity building projects for Vietnamese MSMEs, as well as the development of the Vietnam - ITC partnership in implementing pilot ITC projects.
During a meeting with Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai at the ITC headquarters on July 14, ITC Executive Director Coke-Hamilton described Vietnam as an excellent partner of the ITC in undertaking its projects in Southeast Asia.
Currently Vietnam is implementing a number of ITC-supported programmes and services to enhance the export competitiveness and trade promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises, including the SheTrades Initiative, the Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) project, and Green2Compete project.
The ITC is operating nine projects in Vietnam, the most among ASEAN member countries.
