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Viet Nam
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Situation and cooperation
Viet Nam is a socialist republic in which the Communist Party manages the state and society under a one-party system. There is no organised opposition and no separation of powers such as is typical of a state founded on the rule of law: government, parliament and the administration of justice are controlled by the party leadership. From an international perspective the human rights situation is not yet satisfactory. In the area of press freedom and freedom of opinion, in particular, there are significant shortcomings.
In economic terms the country has become much more open since the mid-1980s. The Vietnamese economy is gradually changing from a planned to a market economy. The comprehensive reform efforts and sustained investment in infrastructure, institutions and training are now paying dividends. For some years Viet Nam has had one of the most dynamic and fast-growing economies in the world. Its prospects of achieving all the Millennium Goals by 2015 are good.
For example, the government's focus on economic and social development has led to significant progress in reducing poverty. The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced from 58 per cent in 1993 to 13 per cent in 2008. In 2010 the threshold of an annual per-capita income of 1,000 US dollars was passed. The World Bank now classes Viet Nam as a middle-income country.
But not all sectors of the population are benefiting equally from the economic upswing. This prompts experts to talk of Viet Nam as a 'two-speed country'. On the one hand, a few emerging urban regions; on the other hand, severe poverty, principally in remote areas with numerous ethnic minorities, where three-quarters of all households meet the criteria for extreme poverty. Large numbers of people move to the cities in the hope of achieving a higher standard of living. Currently around one-quarter of the population already live in cities, and by 2020 this is expected to have risen to one-half. To improve the situation of the rural population, in early 2009 the Vietnamese government launched a special poverty reduction programme for the country's 61 poorest districts.
Viet Nam has a comparatively low rate of illiteracy, at around seven per cent of people over the age of 15. However, the education system cannot keep up with the rapid pace of economic development. There is a lack of adequate and needs-oriented vocational training opportunities. Even with around one million young people completing their schooling each year, there is a significant shortage of skilled workers in Viet Nam. The ministry of education has launched an education programme to address the problems. The German system of combined vocational training and universities of applied sciences is being used as a model.
Dynamic economic development
For years economic growth in Viet Nam was consistently above seven per cent. In 2008 the economy in Viet Nam – as in many other countries – nosedived as a result of the worldwide economic and financial crisis. Yet significant growth rates were again being reported just one year later. The government's various economic stimulus packages contributed to this. For example, it is offering local companies subsidised loans and tax breaks, and has launched an infrastructure development programme.
Viet Nam possesses rich mineral resources, including oil, gas, bauxite, coal and iron ore, which have yet to be fully exploited. Agricultural production embraces a broad spectrum of products. Viet Nam is among the world's largest exporters of rice, coffee, pepper and cashew nuts.
However, the private sector has to contend with structural problems. Excessive bureaucracy and widespread corruption hinder business activities. The structures associated with the rule of law are at present inadequate and must be developed, and the efficiency of the administration must be improved. The government's moves towards privatisation that have been delayed by the global financial crisis must be revived. Large sectors of the Vietnamese economy remain in state hands, operating inefficiently and with too little focus on profit.
Infrastructural weaknesses
Strong economic growth has led to some bottlenecks in Viet Nam. For example, there are major shortcomings in the energy supply sector. Viet Nam's power supply grids are currently recording average losses of 30 per cent. Forty per cent of electricity is generated by means of hydropower. During the dry season from January to May, however, little water is available. This repeatedly leads to power cuts which disrupt industrial production and daily life. Cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City are often without electricity for up to twelve hours at a time.
Another problem is the continuing inadequacy of the transport infrastructure. Only about a third of roads are surfaced, and to this day many municipalities still cannot be reached by car. So far, almost all the funds used have been channelled into modernising main roads – yet these account for just one-tenth of the road network. Although more and more passengers and goods are being transported by rail, one-quarter of the existing rolling stock is no longer fit for use, and a further one-quarter is completely outdated. To improve the transport infrastructure the government intends to push ahead with building new sea ports and airports and developing and expanding the road and rail networks, with donor country support.
Environment
For decades Viet Nam suffered the depredations of war and poverty. Deforestation, soil degradation and land contamination, as well as the reduction of species diversity, are a legacy of that time. Above and beyond these factors, the rapid economic development of the past decades has resulted in ever increasing environmental degradation. Air, water and soil pollution along with uncontrolled disposal of solid wastes are gradually reaching alarming levels. The rising flow of migrants from rural regions towards the cities makes the situation in the urban centres especially problematic.
Viet Nam is particularly exposed to the impacts of climate change. The government has therefore developed a range of programmes and action plans designed to counter the consequences of global warming. It is being supported in its efforts by the German Initiative for Climate and Environmental Protection (IKLU). With support from this special facility, projects to improve energy efficiency and develop renewable energies are being promoted. Additional support is being provided by the German environment ministry through its International Climate Initiative (ICI). For example, ICI funds are being used to finance measures to help people living on the coast adapt to climate change, as well as forest conservation measures to promote carbon storage.
Priority areas of German cooperation with Viet Nam
Even prior to the reunification of Viet Nam in 1976, ties existed between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of South Viet Nam, and between the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and North Viet Nam. Links were maintained by the GDR after the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam was established. In 1990, the reunited Germany entered into development cooperation with Viet Nam. The following priority areas for development cooperation have been agreed with the Vietnamese government:
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Sustainable economic development
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Environmental policy, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources
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Improved decentralised health care
For this purpose Germany pledged Viet Nam a total of around 300 million euros for 2011 and 2012, of which 258 million euros were earmarked for Financial Cooperation and 26 million euros for Technical Cooperation. Just under 16 million euros comes from the German environment ministry's International Climate Initiative (ICI).
Sustainable economic development
The Federal Republic of Germany is supporting Viet Nam in continuing the initiated economic reforms and in making the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy. Germany's engagement is focused strongly on the core areas of "economic and social policy" and "vocational training". Since 2010 advisory services for "social security" have also been delivered.
In the area of economic and social policy Germany is supporting the Vietnamese government in implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015 (SEDP). Germany is helping to ensure that the economic growth process is shaped along more socially equitable and environmentally sound lines. The focus of cooperation is on promoting market-economy principles and reforms. For example, advice is being provided to the central bank and the bank supervision body.
To achieve sustainable and socially balanced economic growth, the expanding economy urgently needs more skilled workers. Only around 12 per cent of the population of working age have trained in a skilled occupation. Every year, a million new school leavers surge onto the labour market.
Within the framework of Technical Cooperation, one initiative being supported by Germany is a project to promote eleven pilot vocational schools training around 10,000 skilled workers every year. It supports the schools in reforming curricula in line with uniform standards, and in adapting these to the needs of the labour market by entering into closer cooperation with the private sector. Training and upgrading programmes are being developed for teaching staff. Special support is being provided to enable women to participate in these training and upgrading measures. In future, promotion of vocational training in Viet Nam will also cover private vocational training institutions and colleges.
Environmental policy, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources
A priority area of German development cooperation in the area of environmental conservation is the disposal of sewage and solid waste. Only about 30 per cent of Vietnamese industrial zones have a central wastewater treatment plant. In the provinces wastewater disposal is often unregulated. Sewers – where they exist at all – are old and dilapidated. Currently the homes of three-quarters of city dwellers are not connected to the sewerage system. A high proportion of wastewater remains unpurified and drains directly into rivers, lakes and canals. This contributes to the spread of infectious diseases, especially among children. The people who live near these bodies of water depend on them for their daily domestic water requirements. Although people are aware that the water is polluted, they continue to use it.
Strategies for sustainable urban development and the expansion of municipal and industrial sanitation and solid waste management are therefore an important focus of German development cooperation. Among other things, in eight selected provincial towns and cities sanitation systems and landfills are being constructed, and extensive consultancy and staff training measures are being provided for waste management firms. The programme is shortly to be extended to four other towns.
Viet Nam's coastal regions in particular face the impacts of climate change. In South Viet Nam, a ten- to twelve-metre wide strip of mangrove forest is lost to erosion every year. The prolonged typhoon season is causing more frequent flooding and storm damage in South and Central Viet Nam. Various climate scenarios suggest that an increase in the number and intensity of floods, tropical storms and storm surges is already likely to occur in the near future. In the Mekong Delta, incidents of this kind occur in an area of high population density, and have an immediate and drastic impact on the lives of the inhabitants. Coastal protection and the conservation and rehabilitation of the mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta are therefore a priority area of Vietnamese-German cooperation.
Other areas in which considerable action is needed in Viet Nam are natural forest management, reforestation and the conservation of biological diversity. In this once richly forested country, today not as much as 20 per cent of its former forest area remains. This rapid loss of forest is not explained solely by the deforestation and soil contamination resulting from past wars, but also by illegal logging and slash-and-burn land clearance. The poorer Vietnamese population, especially, is very heavily dependent on forest resources in the absence of other alternatives. Germany is supporting the allocation of forest land to the local population, the establishment of commercial, sustainably managed forest enterprises, and the protection and management of national parks.
Health care
The health status of large sections of the population in Viet Nam has improved markedly in the past few years. In terms of life expectancy, birth rates and population growth, it is statistically on a par with comparable middle-income countries. Yet the poor population and members of ethnic minorities in remote regions have not so far benefited to the same extent from this positive development. Especially in rural regions, health care institutions are not furnished with adequate equipment or materials. The quality of medical care at province level is considered low and is too expensive for poorer people.
An important objective of Vietnamese-German development cooperation in the health sector, which began in 1993, is therefore to improve the health status of the poor rural population in selected provinces. To promote decentralised health care, medical centres are being built and training is being provided for health sector workers, along with in-service training for the doctors and nurses already employed within the system. Training and regulatory institutions at provincial and national level are being upgraded to enable them to carry out their tasks more effectively.
Promotion focuses on the areas of maternal and child health and emergency care. An annual retrospective analysis is conducted to determine how effective the measures have been, and whether further human or material resources are needed. Germany has so far provided financial support to 25 provincial and district hospitals and a number of health clinics in five provinces.
Information
See also
- Press release 11.10.2011:
German and Vietnamese governments sign agreement on Financial Cooperation - Press release 05.09.2010:
Parliamentary State Secretary Kopp to visit Viet Nam - Press release 15.03.2010:
German Development Minister Niebel's first visit to South East Asia has been major success - Press release 09.03.2010
Germany helps Viet Nam protect itself against the impact of climate change - Press release 08.03.2010:
Niebel launches the "Alumniportal Deutschland" in Viet Nam - Issues: Sustainable economic development
- Issues: Protecting the environment
- Issues: Health
- The Initiative for Climate and Environmental Protection
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