The US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) have launched a partnership programme to promote thedevelopment of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The US-ASEAN Business Alliance for SMEs, which will focus on trainingand mentoring, builds on an SME-training programme created in 2011 atthe request of ASEAN's Economic Ministers.
Speaking at aworkshop in Ho Chi Minh City on April 22, Joakim Parker, director ofUSAID's Vietnam Mission, said the partnership would make it easier forSMEs in ASEAN to be more competitive internationally.
Alexander Feldman, president of the US-ASEAN Council, said that SMEsin ASEAN, as in the US, were a critical part of the economy and wouldcontinue to power Southeast Asia in the years to come.
Aspart of the programme, a workshop was held on April 22 to provide morethan 100 Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge neededto enter international markets.
At the workshop, experts fromUS companies discussed cross-border e-commerce, exports to globalmarkets, and best practices of global suppliers.
Futureactivities of the US-ASEAN Business Alliance will be organisedthroughout the region with the next event planned for June in Malaysia.-VNA