Addressing the launching ceremony, Mr. Pierre Amilhat, Director for Asia, Central Asia/Gulf and Pacific at the Europe Aid Office in Brussels, said that "Viet Nam has come a long way in eradicating poverty and raising the standard of living of its population.”
However, many development challenges still remain. The EU continued, and with even stronger support to the country’s efforts to grow and raise the quality of life of its citizens, said Mr. Pierre Amilhat.
The launching of MIP follows the formal announcement by the EU and the Vietnamese Government on October 13, in connection with the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Brussels.
While the previous cooperation program focused on the areas of health, trade assistance, rule of law and responsible tourism, the new MIP will focus on sustainable energy, governance and the rule of law. The bilateral aid package increased by more than 30% as compared to the previous 7-year period.
Under the MIP 2014-2020, a number of new projects in these fields will be designed and launched over the coming years.
In the energy sector, EU support will contribute to a more sustainable energy sector by promoting efficient, clean and renewable energy. Particularly, it targets the remaining 3% of Vietnamese population without electricity and commits to create access to electricity for 64,577 households by 2020.
In addition, 568,000 rural households will utilize electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020.
Under the support to governance & rule of law, the EU will promote democracy, strengthen the legal and judicial systems and support creating an enabling business environment./.
Source: chinhphu.vn