Italy, Finland and Norway have pledged to grant EUR3 million to develop clusters of small- and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam .

Members of the product quality control sestion check jackets at a garment factory in Ho Chi minh City. The plan will help SMEs in Vietnam increase their competitive ability.

A technical assistance project to this aim was signed on Jan. 21 between the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the Embassy of Italy and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

According to UNIDO representative Nilgun Tas, SME clusters and enterprise networks will help Vietnamese SMEs achieve collective efficiencies and conquer markets beyond their individual reach.

The “SME Cluster Development” project will also assist MPI’s Enterprise Development Agency and selected industry associations in drawing lessons from the successful experiences of Italy and UNIDO, MPI Vice Minister Truong Van Doan said.

“With assistance under the project, partnerships to be established between Italian and Vietnamese industry associations and Italian and Vietnamese SMEs will further the excellent technical and commercial cooperation that exists between our countries and yield mutually beneficiary outcomes,” said Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrea Perugini.

The project is built on achievements recorded in a recently completed MPI-UNIDO project on “Assistance to Establish the National and Provincial SME Support Infrastructure” jointly financed by Finland , Italy and Norway .

It will be implemented under the UN’s “One Plan,” a joint action programme between the Vietnamese Government and all 14 UN organisations in the country.-