Australian Embassy works in Son La province

The Australian Embassy in Vietnam and the provincial People's Committee on November 12 held a meeting of the Steering Committee for the second phase of the Gender-Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism project in Son La province (GREAT 2 Son La).

 

Representatives of the provincial People's Committee and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam at the working session

Trang Thi Xuan, member of the provincial Party Committee’s Standing Board and Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People's Committee; and Cherie Anne Russell, Counselor for Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam co-chaired the meeting.

Cherie Anne Russell, Counselor for Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, at the meeting

On February 23, 2022, the Australian Government approved official development assistance (ODA) for the GREAT 2 project for the 2022-2027 phase. On April 2, 2024, the agreement to implement the GREAT 2 Son La project was signed between the provincial People's Committee and the Australian Embassy.

GREAT 2 Son La features developing market systems in agriculture and tourism; strategies to address four cross-cutting issues  on financial access; digital transformation; supporting women-led businesses and cooperatives; behavior change communication; and support for policy development and implementation. In 2024, the project was allocated 1.5 billion VND (59,172 USD), with 908 million VND disbursed by the end of October, achieving 76% of the annual plan.

At the working session, the provincial People's Committee provided an update on the implementation of the GREAT 2 project in the locality. Accordingly, five sub-project proposals were approved by the provincial People’s Committee, including developing the bamboo shoot industry and related products in Son La; enhancing destination management in Sơn La and the northwestern region of Vietnam – model design phase; digital transformation strategy; promoting women-led businesses and startups in Son La; improving financial access and strengthening financial literacy for ethnic minority women and low-income groups.

It is expected that more than 15,000 women, 70% of whom are ethnic minorities, will benefit from the GREAT 2 Son La project.

Speaking at the event, Xuan expressed her hope for continued support from the Australian government to ensure the successful implementation of GREAT 2, particularly in activities related to agricultural and tourism value chains. She emphasized that the project would help create sustainable market linkages for production and business, promote digital transformation, foster digital integration, and strengthen the capacity of local people, cooperatives, and businesses.

Son la province presents a gift to the Australian Embassy delegation

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