A meeting was held in the northern province of Lao Cai on September
13 to review cooperation outcomes with the Netherlands Development
Organisation (SNV) for the 2008-2010 period and to discuss a plan for
the 2011-2015 period.
In the review period, Lao Cai province and
SNV jointly carried out socio-economic development projects, helping to
improve local people’s living conditions, and increase access to
advanced farming technology. About 85 percent of households also gained
access to clean water.
Tourism development assistance activities
helped the local people raise their income by 15-20 percent, combining
community-based tourism development and sustainable poverty reduction.
Apart
from continuing cooperation projects on socio-economic development for
the 2011-2015 period, the two sides agreed to engage in a consultancy on
clean water supply management and tea development, including a
trademark and connectivity model between farmers and the processing and
business units.
They also agreed to conduct market surveys for travel agencies, in order to meet the demand for community-based tourism.
At
the meeting, Pham Van Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Lao Cai Province
People’s Committee, praised SNV’s cooperation and help over past years
and expressed his wish for the organisation’s further cooperation in
tourism, sustainable agriculture and rural development./.
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