Summary of publication

This report summarises the performance of Australia's development cooperation program with Vietnam from July 2018 to June 2019 against the Vietnam Aid Investment Plan 2015-16 to 2019-20.

Australia's total official development assistance to Vietnam in 2018-19 was $78 million.

Australia's assistance to Vietnam focuses on enabling and engaging the private sector for development, assisting the development of a highly-skilled workforce, and promoting women's economic empowerment including ethnic minorities.

This report assesses that overall the Vietnam development cooperation program is on-track.

Australia's development cooperation activities are well targeted and, consistent with a continuing transition away from an aid-focused relationship to an economic partnership. Our activities are addressing areas of critical need in Vietnam, including macro and micro economic reform, infrastructure development, innovation policy, human resource development and women's economic empowerment.

Progress against the first objective of the AIP, 'Enabling and engaging the private sector for development', was rated amber, for the second year in a row. The performance of the majority of initiatives under this objective, including Aus4Reform, Aus4Innovation and the Australia-World Bank Strategic Partnership Phase 2, was very strong this year. The amber rating reflects, in large part, challenges faced in initial implementation of the Aus4Transport initiative.

Progress against the second objective, 'Assisting the development and employment of a highly-skilled workforce,' has been rated green, the same as the previous reporting period. The main contributor to this objective is the Aus4Skills program, which was assessed in a mid-term review in 2018-19 as having achieved early impact with the potential to make a long-lasting contribution to the Australia-Vietnam economic partnership.

Progress against the third objective, 'Promoting women's economic empowerment', including ethnic minorities, has also been rated green, the same as the previous reporting period. In June 2019, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women visited Vietnam and committed to advancing gender equality and promoting women's economic empowerment in the region. During her visit, she announced Australian support for Vietnam's next ten-year National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-30 and new funding for a second phase of the Investing in Women program.

Full publication

• Vietnam Aid Program Performance Report 2018-19 [PDF 689 KB]
• Vietnam Aid Program Performance Report 2018-19 [Word 1.29 MB]