Vietnam—Technical Assistance for the ARISE+ Programme

In the context of global economic uncertainties, Vietnam has firmly maintained its position among the fastest-growing countries in the world. In 2018, Vietnam recorded a growth of 7.1 percent; the country’s highest growth rate in 10 years since the world economic crisis in 2008. In 2019, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, Vietnam ranked 67th out of 141 countries, moving up 10 places in one year. At the same time, the country ranks 68th among 190 economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business, moving up 14 places in two years.

The EuropeAid project, Technical Assistance for the ARISE+ Programme aims to provide technical assistance to the government to maximise Vietnam’s benefits from preferential trade regimes, with a focus on regional agreements and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement. We are working to enhance compliance with the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures to improve the safety of Vietnam agro-food products and facilitate exports to the EU; put in place a National Quality Infrastructure program that boosts competitiveness and addresses technical barriers to trade, and comprehensively prepare the country for the implementation of the EU-Vietnam FTA and Investment Protection Agreement through a rapid response facility.

Vietnam’s development aspirations are bold, but the challenges and risks facing the country are also huge. To achieve these aspirations, several transformations or breakthroughs are necessary.

Sample Activities

• Build a modern and rule-of-law state that guarantees a fully established market economy.
• Enable economic modernization with a productive and globally competitive private sector firmly in the lead.
• Promote equality and inclusion for the development of a harmonious society.
• Manage urbanization and other forms of spatial transformation to achieve economic efficiency.
• Chart an environmentally sustainable development path with enhanced capacity for climate resilience.