USTDA helps Vietnam raise public procurement capacity

The signing ceremony. Photo: cpv.org.vn

PANO - The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on August 4^th signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) of Vietnam to help Vietnam raise its public procurement capacity.

The partnership was formed within the USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI).

According to the MoU, the USTDA will provide training and technical assistance to help the Government of Vietnam implement a newly revised law which is aimed to achieve greater value of the expenses on public procurements. 

By promoting strategic, long-term infrastructure investments, the Procurement Assistance Program will increase international competition and facilitate the achievements of the development process in Vietnam.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Director for Global Programs Andrea Lupo stressed that the program was an invaluable step in strengthening economic ties between the U.S and Vietnam.

The same day, the U.S Agency kicked off a series of technical procurement trainings in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh cities for approximately 150 public procurement officials. Officials from the George Washington University Law School’s Government Procurement Law Program, the GPI’s globally recognized partner, and technical specialists in life-cycle cost analysis from Jacobsen/Daniels Associates and observers from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, GPI collaborators who are providing capacity building assistance for Vietnam’s procurement reform also participated in the trainings.