from July 9th to July 15th took place the mission to Vietnam of the Deputy Administrative Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, Mr. Giuseppe Cerasoli, following the reopening as a regional hub for the Far East of the AICS Hanoi Office from April 1st and the closure of the Yangon Office from June 30th.
During the visit, the Deputy Director, accompanied by the Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Antonio Alessandro, and the newly appointed Head of the Hanoi office, Ms. Tiziana Fusco, met with AICS main Vietnamese counterparts, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who expressed their heartfelt appreciation for the interventions implemented over the years and the strong partnership with Italy. Honored to host the regional office of the Agency, they also expressed a keen interest in facilitating dialogue with other ASEAN Member States and invited new opportunities for discussion and exchange for future regional and sub-regional interventions in the Mekong area.
The new office regional configuration was also formally presented to the European Union Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Giorgio Aliberti, with whom potential synergies with this delegation and Member States under the Team Europe Initiatives were discussed.
Visits were made to the central regions of Vietnam, to Hue and Quang Nam, to monitor progress and achievements under two major initiatives in the health sector “Improvement of health services to selected areas of the Central Region of Vietnam and the Hue University College of Medicine and Pharmacy” and in the WASH (Water and Sanitation) sector “Urban Sanitation of Nui Thanh in Quang Nam Province”. During the meetings with the respective Project Management Units, partners in the initiatives, some difficulties encountered in the implementation of project activities were also discussed, with joint efforts being made to simplify various administrative and authorization procedures related to the bidding processes.
Looking forward to reviewing and revitalizing the activities of the office with a regional perspective, several solutions for the location of the new office based in Hanoi were evaluated, and it is hoped in the coming weeks to finalize the lease deed.
Emphasis was given to the regional perspective, to the importance of the strategic partnership with ASEAN and to the initiatives recently included in the planning exercise for 2022, approved by the Joint Committee last June, in the areas of sustainable agriculture; fisheries and aquaculture; and training in the area of artistic and cultural heritage protection.