Hanoi (VNA) – A conference took place in Hanoi onDecember 12 to review a technical cooperation project supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in production development, fundedby the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Addressing the event co-organised by JICA and the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment (MPI)’s Agency for Enterprise Development, DeputyMinister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong assessed that after more thanthree years of implementation, despite the relatively small scale of theproject (about 3 million USD) and COVID-19-induced difficulties facingit in the initial stage, its support activities have had a positive rippleeffect and achieved some encouraging results.

Such initial achievements will spread, increasing confidencewithin the Vietnamese business community, he said. Together with the government’sprogrammes and policies, this will help the group recover and develop sustainably.

Hiroaki Yashiro, the JICA chief advisor of the project, saidthe 35 companies receiving support have earned positive outcomes throughtheir efforts to improve productivity. Furthermore, via management trainingclasses for CEOs, participating firms have learned innovative thinking to applyto their operations adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Dong suggested the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, JICA, andrelevant agencies continue to actively coordinate with the MPI to propose theJapanese Government further provide technical assistance for Vietnam in enhancing the competitivenessof its private sector. The focus should be on supporting capacity improvementof Vietnamese experts and consultants in consulting local SMEs based on Japanesepractices and experiences, he said./.