The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) will boost activities that step up the country’s external economic cooperation, technological transfer and external cultural and information programmes, while increasing the number of its members in 2011.

The organisation will further promote friendship and cooperation with people in Vietnam’s neighbouring countries and strategic partners and carry out multilateral activities effectively.

These activities are part of a plan VUFO has outlined for 2011 at a conference held in Hanoi on Jan. 7.
In the plan, VUFO aims to review the national programme on promotion of non-governmental organisations’ aid in the 2006-2010 period and set goals for the programme in the 2011-2015 period.

Last year, VUFO proactively carried out a host of major activities to promote peace, solidarity, friendship and people-to-people cooperation with the country’s traditional friends and important partners.

Prominent activities were related to celebrations of the Vietnam-China Friendship Year, Vietnam’s ASEAN Chair, the 35 th anniversary of Liberation of South Vietnam, and the friendship meeting between Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian people.

In 2010, non-governmental organisations (NGO) in Vietnam disbursed 280 million USD for projects on healthcare, education, community development, social affairs, mine clearance, and assistance to Agent Orange/dioxin victims in the country.

At a recent ceremony marking VUFO’s 60 th founding anniversary, 59 out of 109 NGOs pledged an amount of 157 million USD for poverty reduction programmes in Vietnam in 2011./.