AFDC and IFT Talks on Future Cooperation
On Dec 26 Dr. Peng Runzhong of the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) met with a delegation from the Vietnamese Institute of Financial Training (IFT) and Vietnamese Ministry of Finance in Shenzhen. The delegation was led by IFT Director Nguyen Van Tao and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich, General Director from the International Cooperation Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance. Before the meeting, the delegation had visited China's Ministry of Finance.
At the meeting, drafts of the Evaluation Report of AFDC-IFT Cooperation Achievements and AFDC-IFT Working Plan for 2010 were discussed. Dr. Peng and Mr. Tao summarized the achievements that have been made through cooperation of their respective financial ministries in 2009. They felt that the events held during 2009 had allowed young Vietnamese officials to learn how China manages its economy and promoted knowledge sharing between officials of the two ministries. Vietnamese officials have said that their fiscal system is similar to that of China, so their Ministry of Finance attaches great importance to learning from China's experience in economic development, and hopes to strengthen cooperation between the two sides.
When discussing the working plan for 2010, the IFT requested that the AFDC also help organize training workshops in other areas other than finance. Dr. Peng said that, with the support of China's Ministry of Finance, the AFDC would do its best to meet their needs. The three parties have agreed to gradually expand training cooperation to the extent that funds and other resources allow.
Since Oct 2008 when the three-year cooperation agreement was signed between the AFDC and IFT in Beijing, the AFDC has held three workshops for the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, one in Vietnam and two in China. At the invitation of the AFDC, over 200 Vietnamese participants from both public and private sectors have participated in five international video conferences jointly organized by the AFDC and the World Bank.
