Delegates from National Institute of Finance in Vietnam Pays a First Visit to JICA-RI for Discussion on Industry Cluster Session

With their economy growing rapidly in the past decade, Vietnam is swiftly stepping into a spotlight on the international stage. Just at the beginning of December 2010, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank raised their status to “middle income country,” which officially recognizes their rise to an important key player in the years to come. At home, the county is currently formulating their Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2011-2020, with an aim to boost the present growth. In the midst of this transition, the delegates from National Institute of Finance (NIF) in Hanoi, visited JICA-RI for the first time for an information-gathering session on industry cluster. An affiliated organization with Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance, the institute is a position to advise the minister. In a response to their request, JICA-RI provided with presentations on related topics by officials of Industrial Development Department at JICA, Tetsushi Sonobe, development economics professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, and a joint team of JICA-RI’s Yuko Tanaka and Research Associate Yessica Chung.

The session opened with introductory speeches respectively by President Vu Nhu Thang, who led the delegation, and JICA-RI Director Keiichi Tsunekawa. The JICA staff immediately followed to explain their cooperation work on developing small-to-midsize businesses and supporting industries in Vietnam, pointing out the necessity of further collaboration between involved ministries and organizations. Professor Sonobe, also a JICA-RI’s research partner, shared Japan’s experiences on industry cluster in detail. Lastly, Tanaka and Chung briefed on their project of furniture cluster in Tanzania, illustrating the effectiveness of the furniture business owners’ training program in adding more value to the whole industry as a result of their improved managerial actions. The entire session was met with an enthusiastic reaction by the visitors, and closed with anticipation for further communication.