The New Zealand ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson visited the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh on June 6. She commended the New Zealand-funded projects in the region, including healthcare projects at Binh Dinh Provincial General Hospital and an agricultural project that involves the safe production of vegetables.
Doctors in Binh Dinh have been receiving training from New Zealand experts, and this assistance is expected to increase in the future. The director of the provincial Department of Health Le Quang Hung said that New Zealand’s healthcare projects in the region, though not large in scale, were highly effective and practical.
The safe vegetable production project, which began in 2016, is a collaboration between the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research, a Crown research institute. In this project, dozens of tonnes of clean vegetables are supplied to supermarkets monthly. The operation involves two cooperatives and 40 groups of farming households.
The ambassador described Binh Dinh as a great destination for tourists, commenting that many New Zealanders are interested in visiting the region. She also asked the province to participate in the third phase of the New Zealand-funded embankment safety project, which is underway in other parts of the country.
The vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tuan Thanh urged New Zealand to continue providing support to the region, especially in the areas of agricultural development, human resources development, healthcare, tourism and poverty reduction. He also highlighted the importance of facilitating the engagement of New Zealand businesses with the province, in terms of cooperation and investment opportunities.
