Secretary of the Thai Nguyen provincial Party’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai (R) and Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Shawn Steil at the event (Photo: thainguyen.gov.vn) Thai Nguyen (VNA) – The northern province of Thai Nguyen hopes to continue to receive Canada’s support for projects that enhance the capacity of officials in charge of poverty reduction and social affairs relating to gender equality and the rights of the people, Secretary of the provincial Party’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai said on October 16.
She made the statement at a working session with a delegation from the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam led by Ambassador Shawn Steil to explore opportunities for connection, cooperation, and investment between the two sides.
In recent years, within the framework of the Comprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and Canada, cooperation projects with Canada in Thai Nguyen have primarily focused on education and training, Hai said. These projects involve experience sharing programmes to enhance capacity and skills, conducted by Thai Nguyen University, the University of Information Technology and Communications, and the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).
She cited some outstanding projects such as “Utilising Digital Technology to Enhance Online Business Efficiency for Women with Disabilities in the Red River Delta of Vietnam”, the enhancement of leadership skills and gender integration through training and action plan making in three mountainous communes in Mu Cang Chai district.
Regarding the project enhancing the capacity and skills in the northern mountainous region on gender equality supported by CFLI for the Centre for Research and Development of ethnic minority and mountainous women at Thai Nguyen University, Hai said that this activity is meaningful, helping equip officials from social organisations in northern mountainous provinces with knowledge on gender equality and gender integration.
She called for strengthening collaboration with the Canadian Embassy to promote investment, trade, and local economic development.
For his part, Ambassador Steil noted that Thai Nguyen holds an important position in cooperation between Canada and Vietnam, with a focus on education and gender equality.
Canada's international development programme in Vietnam has been carried out for over 30 years, with a specific emphasis on ethnic minority communities in the field of economic development, especially women in this region. Thai Nguyen province serves as a gateway to the northern mountainous region, so that it has always received special attention from Canada for the implementation of projects and programmes in this area, the Ambassador went on.
In the coming time, with a foreign policy prioritising women, Canada will continue to pay due attention to and support women in ethnic minority communities, including those in Thai Nguyen province, he said, adding that the Canadian Embassy will study specific solutions to enhance cooperation in new areas proposed by Thai Nguyen./.
