Development of industrial clusters can boost the competitiveness of Vietnamese industries and support effective production networks and value chains, and tailored polices shall therefore be established to promote cluster development in Vietnam.
This is one of the conclusions of the workshop held in Da Nang City on 29 July by the Central Institute for Economic Management – CIEM, Ministry of Planning and Investment and the UNIDO project “SME Cluster Development”.
The workshop drew the participation of senior officials from the key ministries, international experts, national policy makers and representatives of the academic and private sectors.
In his opening speech, the Vice Chairman of the Danang Municipal People’s Committee, Mr Nguyen Xuan Anh stressed the need to have polices to support cluster development. For his part, the First Secretary of the Embassy of Italy, Mr Damiano Francovigh added that cluster development would help enhance the competitiveness of businesses, especially the small and medium sized enterprises.
The National Programme Officer in Charge of the UNIDO Country Office, Ms Le Thi Thanh Thao emphasised that through clusters and enterprise network industries may achieve collective efficiencies and conquer markets beyond their individual reach. She noted: “Clusters and cluster promotion policies have become keywords in the policy debate in industrialized and developing countries. Under the framework of the Project SME Cluster Development, UNIDO wants to support the development of SME clusters in Vietnam through the UNIDO cluster methodology combined with tailored technical assistance and the promotion of business partnerships with Italian industries and clusters.”
The participants to the workshop got an insight into cluster development models, policies and international experiences from Italia, some State members of the OECD and other countries in the region. The perspectives of the Government of Vietnam towards clusters development and competitiveness were also highlighted. The role of the Government and the role of the market as well as their interaction were addressed as this would decide how the policies should be designed to facilitate cluster development.
The workshop also launched a research, jointly conducted by UNIDO and CIEM, aimed at proposing effective cluster policies, facilitating the competitiveness and sustainable development of Vietnam. A proposal for the optimal design and implementation of a cluster policy initiative in Vietnam is expected to be delivered as the outcome of the research. Such a proposal will be presented to the Government of Vietnam within the end of the year.
The workshop also reached a common understanding of clusters and cluster development policies. Experience from other countries proved that clusters development policies need to be tailored to the specific context of a country, its industry and institutional framework. Vietnam needs further discussion and understanding but it also has to take immediate actions.
According to UNIDO, cluster development policies aim at stimulating and boosting networking and co-operative efforts among different actors (firms, research centres, universities, public bodies and intermediate institutions) within a defined economic and geographical area with the final goal of promoting higher competitiveness.
The Project SME Cluster Development, implemented by UNIDO, the United Nations specialized agency with the mandate of promoting sustainable industrial development having in-depth expertise in industrial policies and strategies and on promoting clusters, will contribute to the research by providing international expertise and funding as well as coordinating a team of national experts in cooperation with CIEM.
The Project SME Cluster Development is entirely funded by the Government of Italy with 3 Millions Euro, and has the Enterprise Development Agency under MPI as the national partner. The project aims at increasing the competitiveness of Vietnamese SMEs in three selected clusters, through the UNIDO cluster methodology combined with tailored technical assistance and the promotion of business partnerships with Italian industries and clusters. The Italian well know experience on industrial districts, home to successful and competitive SMEs, will be leveraged for providing best practices and institutional linkages.
The project is currently assisting industries in the garment, footwear and furniture sectors, in the areas of Hanoi, Hung Yen, HCMC and Binh Duong.
For more information please contact:
Dinh Thu Huong
Press & Communication Officer
UNIDO Country Office Viet Nam
Tel. + 84 4 3942 4000
Email: D.Thu-Huong(at)unido.org
