USAID Administrator Officiates at Vietnam Mission Opening

WASHINGTON, July 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of her official
visit to Vietnam, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator
Henrietta Fore presided at a ceremonial opening of the agency's new mission in
Hanoi.
Since the mission has been operating for the past few months, the ribbon
cutting really recognized the growing importance of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic
and economic relations by USAID's commitment to a locally run mission. Before
that, the mission was a regional office, managed by USAID's bureau in
Thailand.
Health care, education and the environment were among the issues the
administrator and prime minister discussed with Vietnamese officials. Fore
also met with more than a dozen women holding prominent positions in business,
health, education and law to gain their insights on how well women are
advancing under Vietnam's growing prosperity. The administrator also visited
USAID-supported HIV/AIDS and methadone clinics.
Vietnam's effort to rapidly move toward a market-driven economy has
decreased poverty more than 30 percent among that nation's 84 million people.
Still, problems persist.
Needle-using drug abusers are keeping HIV/AIDS at epidemic levels and an
alarming amount of human trafficking continues. USAID-sponsored business
partnerships, however, have made strides in boosting Vietnam's economy.
Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm have brought wireless Internet connections to
rural areas and schools while Masterfoods and the World Cocoa Foundation
increased coca production and trade in the nation's Mekong Delta and Central
highlands.
Nearly $100 million in assistance is slated for Vietnam this year, up from
$59 million in 2007 and $37 million in 2006.
For more information about the USAID and its programs in Vietnam, please
visit www.usaid.gov.
The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International
Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for
nearly 50 years.
Public Information: 202-712-4810
SOURCE USAID

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