Vietnam PM Approves $10M UNDP-funded Projects on Administration Reform

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a list of seven projects costing a total of $10.15 million funded by the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) to help the country reform its administrative system. The projects will focus on boosting the impacts of administrative reform on management capacity at some localities to assist investors and individuals in doing business, the government said on its website. The list consists of the official projects getting the UNDP’s official development assistance (ODA) for the 2012-2016 period. Vietnam has carried out many ODA-supported projects for administrative reform in an effort to lure foreign investors as cumbersome administrative procedures remain the biggest obstacle for the country’s development, said Scott Jacobs, a high-ranking advisor of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) project. (Chinhphu Sept 28, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam – Vietnam Economic Times Oct 1 p3)