Australian program supporting Vietnam’s economic reform summarized

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinnowski makes a speech at the workshop

The Aus4Reform Program, funded by the Australian Government, aims to support Vietnamese agencies in implementing their plans to restructure the economy, renovate growth paradigms, and improve the business and investment environment towards improving labor productivity and the quality and competitiveness of the economy towards rapid and sustainable development.

The program was implemented from November 2017 to November 2022 with a grant of 6.5 million Australian dollars.

With four components implemented by four institutions, including the Central Institute for Economic Management (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment), the Department of Competition and Consumer Protection (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), the Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as a flexible fund to support urgent priority issues arising during the course of implementation, the Aus4Reform Program has assisted the government of Vietnam through: Fostering research and analysis of issues related to economic reform by Vietnamese agencies; Enhancing dialogue among policy makers, the public, academia and politicians; and Strengthening cooperation and learning experiences and exchanging information between agencies of Vietnam and other countries, especially agencies of Australia.

Mr. Andrew Goledzinowski,  Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said: “Australia and Vietnam have cooperated closely on economic reform since shortly after the opening of Vietnam’s economy in the early 1990s, including during important periods such as when Vietnam joined the WTO, commenced participation in free trade agreements and most recently during its economic response and recovery from COVID-19.”

Although the conference marks the conclusion of the current phase of the Aus4Reform Program, our economic reform and cooperation journey continues. This is underpinned by the trust that exists between our governments, and our common goals to enhance our economic relationship, increase investment flows and strengthen regional prosperity and stability.

Aus4Reform is the third program in a series of programs/projects led by the Australian Government to support Vietnam's economic reform, including the WTO Post-Accession Technical Assistance Program (2008-2014), the project to support Economic Restructuring Towards Enhancing Vietnam's Competitiveness (2014-2017) and the program Australia Supports Economic Reform in Vietnam (2017-2022)./.