As part of the Municipal Partners for Economic Development Programme
(MPED), a workshop was co-hosted by the Association of Cities of Vietnam
and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in the central province
of Da Nang on March 13.
Local authorities from Vietnam and Cambodia , as beneficiaries of
the programme, participated in the workshop. Filipino and Thai
organisations also attended to share experiences.
The workshop focused on exchanging experiences, learning from the first
phase in Vietnam and Cambodia , and proposing ideas for MPED in Asia
.
It also creates opportunities for participants
to compare the results and strategies of other project sites, therefore
boosting local economic development.
Local
authorities were introduced to areas that will be prioritised in Phase
Two. They were told how to build a strategic plan for economic
development, and shown different approaches and methods in the fields of
agriculture, and small and medium enterprises.
Another priority for Vietnam is the building and management of a land use plan.
The concept of municipal services supporting business is quite new in
Vietnam and Cambodia . However, it has been successfully applied in
Canada and many other countries, with focus on female and young
businesspeople.
One of the main purposes of MPED is
to support gender equality by creating support services for
businesswomen to help them overcome difficulties in training, obtaining
capital, networking, and other risks.-VNA