The project “Sustainable Product Innovation in Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia ” was launched in Hanoi on April 22 to help SMEs get oriented toward green growth.

The 2.3 million EUR project is funded by the SWITCH-in-Asia Programme under the European Union that benefits 500 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in food packaging, apparel, footwear, handicrafts and furniture in the three countries.

Sean Doyle, Ambassador and Head of the EU mission in Vietnam, said he expects the project will help boost sustainable production and consumption in Vietnam and make practical contributions to lawmaking at a point when the Vietnamese Government is drafting its socio-economic strategy for the 2011-20 period.

Under the project, a representative office will be opened in Hanoi in connection with assistance offices in Vientiane , Laos , and Phnom Penh , Cambodia .

The offices will operate as a stable network to provide assistance in managing and conducting relevant research and supplying information for SMEs in gearing towards environmentally-friendly products and marketing./.