The Italian Development Cooperation has been present in Vietnam since 1990, the date of signature of the first Technical-Financial Cooperation Agreement between Italy and the Vietnamese government. The first office in Hanoi was opened in 1998, and since 2007 it has also become responsible for activities in Cambodia and Laos. Since January 2016, following the reform of Italian cooperation (L. 125/2014), the Hanoi office has become the foreign headquarters of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and has acquired financial and administrative autonomy.
On 12 June 2020, with resolution no. 42, the AICS Joint Committee ordered the closure of the AICS Headquarters in Hanoi and, starting from 1 November 2020, the agency’s activities in Vietnam became the territorial responsibility of the AICS Headquarters in Yangon. Subsequently, on 18 October 2021, with resolution no. 114, the AICS Joint Committee resolved the closure of the AICS Headquarters in Yangon and, at the same time, the establishment of the AICS Headquarters in Hanoi by the first half of 2022 with regional competence and over all the countries of the Far Eastern area not already assigned to other offices. The opening of the new regional office was formalized on 1 April 2022 with the arrival of the Head Office in Vietnam.
Vietnam
During 2022, the Italian Cooperation in Vietnam operated within five macro-sectors of intervention for a total of approximately 118 million euros. The priority sectors of AICS Hanoi programming are WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), support for the private sector, health, fight against climate change and strengthening of institutions – statistics. The support of the Italian Cooperation to Vietnam pursues the 2030 Agenda and the related SDGs as part of the approach of the Team Europe initiatives and in line with the EU Green New Deal. The projects of the Italian Cooperation are conceived within the framework of the 2021-2023 Programming Document of the Italian Cooperation and are well aligned with Vietnam’s socio-economic-environmental policies, including the Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2021-2030 (SEDS ) and the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025.
Myanmar and Bangladesh
In Myanmar, Italian cooperation has been present since 2011, the year of the start of the process of democratic opening of the country and the transition between the military junta and civilian government, a process interrupted with the army’s takeover of power in February 2021. The cooperation portfolio Italian in Myanmar, the only country in the region included in the list of priority countries in the three-year cooperation programming 2021 – 2023, amounted to approximately 91 million euros as of 1 February, with a structured program of interventions with gift financing and aid credits in various sectors considered strategic. Italian support for the country was articulated above all through institutional capacity building activities, support for peacebuilding and development of rural areas and small businesses, as well as through interventions in areas in which Italy boasts internationally recognized skills, such as protection and valorization of cultural and environmental heritage. The events that followed the events of February 1st, with their wake of violence, have forced an internal reflection within the Donor Community in Myanmar, regarding the continuation of development cooperation activities and the remodulation of the flows of Public Development Assistance (ODA ). Implementing the instructions received from MAECI in 2021, AICS has concluded or suspended all initiatives in support of central and local authorities, privileging initiatives that directly benefit the Burmese population and humanitarian assistance interventions.
In Bangladesh AICS supports humanitarian assistance activities in favor of the Rohingya population and the local host community in the Cox’s Bazar area, on the border with the Rakhine state, where in 2017 the Rohingya minority was the victim of violent ethnic cleansing actions by the the Burmese army. Around a million people, following persecution, crossed the border and found shelter in this area of the country, poorly developed and affected by extreme climatic conditions. Over the years, Italian cooperation has financed contributions to emergency programs implemented by United Nations agencies and international bodies in coordination with the Government of Dhaka.
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), created to promote the socio-economic integration of member states, fosters a global network of alliances, follows numerous international dossiers and hosts diplomatic missions from all over the world. In this context, on 9 September 2020, Italy was recognized as a Development Partner: a partnership that provides for the strengthening of cooperation between our country and ASEAN, and the coordination of projects