DIALOGUE
In this section:
First Person
Mission of the Month: Vietnam
Notes from Natsios
FIRST PERSON
Kire Sosev
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Luminita Zagrai, Romania,
Young Scientist Program participant holds fruit as
she stands with American professor Dr. Paul Domoto.
Jay Sorensen, USAID/Romania |
“Right now I’m working on a national project
concerning fruit storage in controlled atmospheres and prevention
of spoilage and disease. I’m trying to approach the problem
through the prism of what I learned in the U.S.”
Romania, once known as the breadbasket of Europe, is now
a net importer of agricultural goods. Only 12 percent of the
country’s gross domestic product comes from agriculture.
Since the fall of communism, privatization of state farms
has occurred slowly and inefficiently, leading to many fragmented
small farms. The irrigation system was damaged, and competitiveness
fell far behind other Eastern European countries.
USAID funded the Young Scientist Program, which brings skilled
young Romanians to work with U.S. agriculture experts from
Iowa State University and University of Wisconsin. Hands-on
learning over one month focuses on food safety, biotechnology,
livestock genetics, dairy feed and forage, resource management,
international trade and policy, and agriculture marketing.
So far, 40 scientists have received scholarships to study
in the United States.
MISSION OF THE MONTH
Vietnam
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Home accessory companies in Ha Tay province near Hanoi
wished to take advantage of new trade opportunities,
yet they did not know how to develop and market their
products internationally. USAID arranged for Ernie Owens,
who has 40 years of industry experience, to help local
businesses design, develop, and export their products.
Here, Owens examines ceramic vases in Bat Trang village.
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The Challenge
Vietnam and the United States established diplomatic relations
in 1995, two decades after the United States withdrew from
South Vietnam and the North invaded and unified the country.
Establishing trade relations allowed Vietnam’s reforming
command-controlled economy access to U.S. markets and allowed
U.S. business interests access to a market of more than 80
million people with relatively high literacy and life expectancy
rates.
In December 2001, the two countries ratified a bilateral
trade agreement that put into place a process of mutual market
opening. The opening was tied to changes in Vietnam’s
laws, regulations, and practices related to international
trade.
Innovative USAID Response
Ensuring the success of the new trade agreement required a
strong and coordinated response aimed at helping Vietnam adapt
its laws. USAID met this need with two programs, one focusing
on trade and law and the other on accelerating reform to allow
the private sector in Vietnam to grow.
In partnership with the U. S. Vietnam Trade Council, USAID
formed an important bridge to help the Vietnamese government
and businesses understand U.S. business practices. The program
benefited from the council’s connections to multinational
corporations and key members of Congress, elevating the profile
of reform in Vietnam.
USAID also worked with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and
departments to draft laws and regulations and implement internationally
accepted practices through the Support for Trade AcceleRation
(STAR) program. STAR placed a highly respected U.S. economist
specializing in Southeast Asia in Hanoi to direct a team of
local and international lawyers.
Most vital to both USAID’s programs was the Vietnamese
government’s establishment of a steering committee. Former
USAID Country Manager Jean Gilson noted that “USAID’s
design to place the STAR program within and under the purview
of the Prime Minister’s Office—where no single line
ministry could claim sole ownership—was the key to its
early and continued success and access, despite the resulting
logistical and administrative burden placed on the Office
of the Government and the Steering Committee.”
The committee gathers and evaluates all requests for technical
assistance from any of the 46 government offices in need of
reform in order for Vietnam to remain compliant under its
trade agreement obligations. Then USAID responds to meet the
most pressing requests.
Results
Bilateral trade was increased by 400 percent between Vietnam
and the United States. Vietnam has changed its legal practices,
improving the rule of law, promoting good governance, and
protecting property rights.
A new decree on foreign lawyers has improved access to legal
services.
The number of laws and regulations published in the Official
Gazette each year has increased from just 4,200 in 2002
to 16,510 in 2004. Many draft laws and regulations are now
posted for public comment.
Training for 400 judges coming from every province and a
new civil procedure code have improved court procedures, especially
for intellectual property rights disputes.
Revisions to the law governing credit institutions have helped
level the playing field for commercial banks. Commercial arbitration
procedures have been strengthened, and Vietnam‘s customs
laws now comply with World Trade Organization requirements.
USAID Country Manager Dennis Zvinakis said economic growth
could not have been achieved without the help of the Vietnamese.
“Some years back the government made a major policy
decision to create a market-driven economy and have carried
out that commitment with tenacity and professionalism,”
he said. “Because they haven’t wavered…profound
changes can already be seen in day-to-day economic governance.”
NOTES FROM NATSIOS
The humanitarian catastrophe created by the tidal waves that
swept Asia the day after Christmas and killed at least 150,000
has become one of our most important tasks for the coming
year—possibly longer—and I am calling on all staff
and all offices to join the effort.
USAID has become the lead agency in dealing with the crisis.
We will work with the military, State Department, other U.S.
and international agencies, and affected governments to provide
immediate food, water, shelter, and medicine to survivors,
and then transition into rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Millions of people will depend on us. It is also an opportunity
for America to demonstrate our generosity and compassion,
and for us to show that USAID is this country’s and the
world’s most capable foreign aid organization.
I met with senior staff from every office in the Agency December
30 and called upon everyone to offer help, personnel, advice,
information, and other support to this enormous task. The
four principal missions affected—Sri Lanka, Indonesia,
India, and Thailand—are preparing lists of temporary
and permanent additional staffing needed to deal with the
tsunami. Our Response Management Team in Washington is coordinating
our efforts.
Current and retired USAID staff who worked on Hurricane Mitch
or other disasters—in Iran, India, Bangladesh, Mozambique,
and El Salvador—are being asked to volunteer to help
in Asia or to provide lessons learned.
The Global Development Alliance is seeking donations from
U.S. corporations or foundations. Already a shipping company
has offered to carry our relief supplies from Dubai to Asia.
We are preparing country-specific plans for the relief response
that will include all U.S. Government assets, including the
military. We expect to work closely with the military in this
crisis, where they will play a logistics role rather than
the security role they play in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), which is
leading our response, will assign staff to coordinate military
help to the aid mission. Our OFDA Director, Ken Isaacs, has
gone to Asia to review the relief operations.
Other offices will prepare rehabilitation and reconstruction
plans, assign procurement officers for rapid contracting,
coordinate with other donors, and transfer to Asia tsunami
warning technology we helped install in Chile and Peru.
We’ve just begun a long and difficult task.
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