President of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan (VFF) has extended Vietnamese people’s sincere gratitude to foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for their contributions to the country’s development. He said at a ceremony held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) on November 16 that the expertise and financial resources of NGOs were important to Vietnam’s formulation and implementation of socio-economic development plans. Nhan said although Vietnam had become a low middle-income country, it was still facing many challenges in dealing with the aftermath of war, natural disasters, and climate change as well as eliminating poverty. He expected that NGOs would build on previous fruitful cooperation and continue working to reinforce the well-established partnership, making it more effective, substantive and sustainable. Over the past five years, foreign NGOs have provided Vietnam with $300 million each year to help the country implement socio-economic development programmes. There are currently nearly 500 foreign NGOs operating in Vietnam with many having been present for over 30 years. On the occasion, the VFF president praised the VUFO’s efforts and initiatives to promote the role of foreign NGOs in Vietnam, connect international friends with Vietnamese partners and foster friendly relations between Vietnam and other countries. He believed that cooperation between the VUFO and NGOs would be strengthened, contributing to peace, stability and mutual understanding between Vietnam and the world as well as Vietnam’s international integration. (nhandan.com.vn Nov 17)
