Vietnam and the French Development Agency (AFD) May 5 signed a EUR1-million agreement for technical assistance to Vietnam’s medical sector in the future, state media reported May 5. A deal to this effect was inked by Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc and General Director of AFD Dov Michel Zerah and French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Francois Girault in Hanoi. The funding is aimed at providing technical assistance to the establishment and the modernization of Hanoi University Medical Hospital (CHU) in a bid to improve capability of medical staff and quality of healthcare services. The CHU project is part of traditional cooperation activities in the health sector between France and Vietnam. The ambition of the project is high, with improvements of the medical training system, as well as research capacities. Especially, an international technical assistance will be financed for three years in order to support Hanoi medical university hospital for this project. With the new funding agreement, the total net commitment of AFD for official development assistance (ODA) in Vietnam will amount to about EUR1.05 billion. (vietnamplus.vn May 5)
