Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) provided Vietnam with a total 283 million USD in aid in 2015, it was announced at a conference in Hanoi on December 23 to sum up NGOs work and lay out tasks for next year.

The amount of aid was less than the 304 million USD recorded last year as NGOs shifted their priority to humanitarian hotspots worldwide, reports at the conference said.

However, the number of NGOs operating in Vietnam is increasing.

Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and deputy head of the Committee on NGOs Don Tuan Phong told the participants that NGOs are switching their assistance to the fields of environment, climate change, capacity building and policy lobby, beyond infrastructure and equipment supply.

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Reviewing this year’s activities, the committee has worked closely with ministries and agencies to raise domestic and foreign financial assistance via conferences and seminars, built guidebooks on administrative procedures in five languages, and offered personnel training at both grassroots and central levels.

About tasks for 2016, it will continue providing administrative, technical and legal support to foreign NGOs, boosting ties with embassies, development cooperation agencies, the United Nations and international organisations, improving policy consultation, research and personnel training.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Ho Xuan Son, who is also head of the NGO committee, called for effectively utilising aid and seeking new capital from businesses and foreign funds in Vietnam.

Source: VNA