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ADB and Japan Continue Support for Vietnamese Officials on Public Policy

HA NOI, VIETNAM (23 March 2009) - Today the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with funding from the Government of Japan, inaugurated the 2009 Executive Public Policy Training Program for senior and mid-level government officials in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Home Affairs after successfully completing the 2007-2008 training program.

The objective of the Executive Public Policy Training Program is to upgrade knowledge and skills of Vietnamese government officials so that they can better analyze and formulate policy reforms as well as more effectively implement new policies being adopted by the country.

"As Viet Nam is becoming a middle income country, the role of the Government is changing rapidly. In order to respond to new challenges, Vietnamese Government officials need to be well equipped," Mr. Ayumi Konishi, ADB Country Director for Viet Nam said at the opening ceremony.

In 2007-2008, the Executive Public Policy Training Program was delivered to a total of 405 senior and middle-level Vietnamese government officials. The training program was found very relevant and beneficial to the participants. It is expected that by the end of 2010, some 1,100 Vietnamese Government civil servants will have benefited from the training program. Attending the first run of the 2009 program are some 55 civil servants representing key ministries and policy related agencies within Viet Nam.

The executive training program, being implemented under Asian Development Bank's Regional Technical Assistance for Public Policy Training Program 2007-2010, covers the Mekong countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam. The Program is funded by the Government of Japan through its Japan Fund for Public Policy Training.

The Public Policy Training Program 2007-2010 involve a number of activities-short-term and long-term, in country and abroad-all aimed at helping build sustained domestic institutional capacity in these countries. This is undertaken through well-designed formal and informal in-service training programs for civil service officials at middle to senior levels. The program was initiated in Viet Nam in 2007 and extended to Cambodia and the Lao PDR in 2009.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members - 48 from the region. In 2008, it approved $10.5 billion of loans, $811.4 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.

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