Geneva (VNA) – A Vietnamese diplomat hashighlighted the country’s wish to enhance cooperation with the Geneva-based InternationalTrade Centre (ITC) while addressing the recent 57th session of theITC’s Joint Advisory Group.

In her remarks, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, PermanentRepresentative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva, highlyvalued the ITC’s assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)over the past years, especially for their digital transformation, greentransition and access to foreign markets, along with its trade facilitation.

Vietnam hopes to strengthen ties with the ITC in the timeahead on the basis of its trade and development achievements obtained duringthe transformation from an underdeveloped country into a lower-middle-incomeone, she went on.

The country is working hard to implement the climate changeresponse strategy and shift to a circular economy, she said, noting that greengrowth is not only an inevitable choice but also an opportunity for Vietnam tokeep up with the global development trend and reach the target of net zeroemissions by 2050.

Therefore, Vietnam and some other countries’ participation inthe new ITC project of “Climate competitiveness: Building opportunities in the green economy for emerging and developing countries”,funded by the European Union for 2023 - 2026, will create favourable conditionsfor them to capitalise on assistance during the adjustment of policies andtrade practices in adaptation to climate change, and discuss trade andenvironmental issues at WTO to boost trade and sustainable development.

As an active ITC member since 2007,Vietnam sincerely appreciates contributions by the ITC and other sponsors to thetechnical support and capacity building projects for its MSMEs, Mai noted, applaudingthe development of the Vietnam - ITC partnership as seen in some pilot projectsof the centre.

The hybrid 57th session of the ITC’s JointAdvisory Group reviewed the centre’s performance in 2022 and gaverecommendations for its activities in the time ahead.

ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said the centredisbursed more than 150 million USD for projects in 130 countries last year,the highest-ever sum. ITC-funded projects helped over 27,000 small businesses,including 10,000 women-led ones, improve their competitiveness.

At a meeting with Ambassador Mai prior to the session, Coke-Hamiltondescribed Vietnam as an excellent partner of the ITC during the implementationof this centre’s projects in Southeast Asia.

The country is accessing some ITC-financed programmes andprojects to improve export competitiveness and trade promotion capacity ofMSMEs. In Vietnam, the centre is running nine projects, the biggest among ASEANmembers./.