Vietnam and Luxembourg signed in Hanoi on November 14 a General Cooperation Agreement between the two governments, the third of its kinds between the two countries since 1995.

At the signing ceremony 

In his remarks at the signing ceremony in Hanoi, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said the non-refundable ODA from the Government of Luxembourg has been poured to Vietnam’s key areas over the past two decades.

According to the minister, Vietnam and Luxembourg started their development cooperation in the 1990s with the first General Cooperation Agreement inked in 1995. Since then, Luxembourg has provided Vietnam with about 124 million EUR in non-refundable ODA, greatly dedicating to the country’s socio-economic development.

The cooperation programmes have been geared towards Vietnam’s five-year socio-economic development plans and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the projects have been approached in a diverse, comprehensive fashion towards the sustainable development, he noted

Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian of Luxembourg Romain Schneider, for his part, said Vietnam wants to further advance its development; in such context, Luxembourg hopes to expand the relations with Vietnam beyond the traditional donor-recipient ties while establishing a partnership for mutual benefit.

The agreement allows different projects to receive coordination from any ministries of Luxembourg. It covers cooperation in multiple areas, including climate change, energy, medical research, finance and banking, he added.-VNA