Hue city in central Vietnam is currently focusing on developing a unique "heritage city" oriented toward sustainability, integrating heritage conservation and restoration with green growth and digital transformation.
This was highlighted by Deputy Chairman of the Hue City People’s Committee Hoang Hai Minh during a meeting with a delegation from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and representatives from the Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation (LuxDev).
The delegation was co-led by Ms. Phonevanh Outhavong, Vice Minister of Finance of Laos, and Mr. Robert de Waha, LuxDev's Resident Representative for Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
According to Mr. Minh, previous support projects in agricultural production and infrastructure have yielded tangible results, significantly improving local livelihoods and contributing positively to the city’s socio-economic development.
However, Hue continues to face significant challenges due to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.
In light of these realities, Hue expressed its desire for continued technical and financial assistance from the Luxembourg Government to enrich the local ecosystem, enhance biodiversity, and promote sustainable livelihoods.
He also shared insights gained from a recent working trip to Luxembourg, particularly regarding the "climate finance ecosystem" and financial instruments designed for climate change adaptation. These experiences are expected to open new approaches for the city’s socio-economic development planning.
Furthermore, Hue is step-by-step leveraging its cultural, ecological, and agricultural resources to develop community-based tourism, ecotourism, and agritourism models.
During the meeting, Ms. Outhavong noted that Hue shares many similarities with urban areas in Laos regarding its development process, particularly in its focus on sustainable development, enhancing governance capacity, and building smart cities.
She emphasized that the Lao Ministry of Finance highly values Hue’s achievements in sustainable and smart urban development. Through collaborative activities and knowledge exchange, both sides can learn from one another to gradually improve governance efficiency, public finance management, and modern urban development in line with the current global context.
Providing further information, Mr. Robert de Waha stated that building on the positive results of previous cooperation, the Luxembourg Government is currently supporting Hue in implementing two projects with a total funding value of approximately $12 million.
Specifically, Project VIE/039 focuses on promoting climate-smart agriculture and enhancing access to finance for farming households and small businesses, with a particular emphasis on women and vulnerable groups. Meanwhile, Project VIE/301 is being implemented to scale up and replicate the successful models established under Project VIE/039.
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