UNDP - Viet Nam: The Story of a 25-Year Partnership

Vietnamese

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UNDP - Viet Nam: The Story of a 25-Year Partnership

June 19, 2013

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commenced its development assistancerelationship with the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in 1977, the year in which the country joined the United Nations. The partnership, forged by Viet Nam and UNDP in those early, difficult days, was based on mutual respect and understanding. Today’s Viet Nam has vastly changed as the nation has expanded its horizons and unleashed the productive capacity of its people while moving to ever deeper integration with the global economy. UNDP’s assistance has adapted to these new evolving conditions. But the Viet Nam – UNDP partnership remains strong, as it is built on shared trust and on an abiding confidence that Viet Nam and UNDP will work together to overcome not just the challenges of today, but those of tomorrow.

This booklet highlights the main features of the Viet Nam – UNDP partnership and tracks the quarter century of collaboration. It also shares some first-hand stories of Vietnamese colleagues involved in UNDP initiatives throughout the period and catalogues both successes as well as major lessons learned.

Twenty-five years ago, when Viet Nam was in great need of assistance, but isolated from much of the outside world, UNDP’s highly valued neutrality as mandated by the UN Charter enabled it to begin helping a people emerging from a long and destructive war. As one of the few international donors present in Viet Nam, UNDP contributed to the immediate needs of post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction. But UNDP assistance also took on a longer term perspective and provided the Vietnamese people with access to the outside world and served as a channel for new technology, equipment and know-how essential to national development.