USAID top leader to visit Can Tho

Chairman Tran Viet Truong (fifth from right) and USAID Administrator Samantha Power (fifth from left) after the meeting

On 09 March 2023, Ms. Samantha Power, USAID Administrator had a meeting session with Mr. Tran Viet Truong, Chairman of the City People's Committee. The two sides discussed areas of potential collaboration in the upcoming time, including climate change, sustainable energy, and education, among many others.

Recognizing that climate change impacts livelihoods, the environment, and human lives, Ms. Power said that due to the fast speed of climate change occurrence, countries around the world must move quickly in their action plans for adaptation and mitigation.

In addition, at the meeting, USAID also expressed interest in cooperating with Can Tho city in other activities to strengthen action against plastic pollution, support those affected by climate change and the medical sector to take care of the health of people affected by climate change.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City said that the Politburo issued Resolution 59-NQ/TW on the construction and development of the city by 2030, with a vision to 2045. In this Resolution, it identified Can Tho as the center of politics, culture and defense in the Mekong Delta, especially the center of culture, education, health, science, technology, and logistics.

Can Tho City has potential and advantages, but there are still many obstacles and difficulties. Road transport infrastructure with Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway still has a section of about 40km that has not been connected to Can Tho City, so the distance from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho is only 170km but it takes 3 hours.

Waterway traffic has a port system that can receive ships of 20,000-30,000 tons, but because Dinh An channel is filled up, only ships with a capacity of about 5,000 tons can enter, which in turn has a great impact to the development of sea logistics. Therefore, in order to export agricultural and aquatic products of the Mekong Delta (about 20-23 million tons per year), enterprises have to transport containers to Ho Chi Minh City, causing logistics prices to increase.

In addition, Can Tho is the only locality in the Mekong Delta that has an international airport, but it mainly serves the travel needs of passengers, has not yet transported cargo, leading to limitations in transporting agricultural products in the Mekong Delta region.

Last year, the National Assembly issued Resolution 45/2022/QH15 on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Can Tho City, including a mechanism to establish an agro-business hub in the Mekong Delta and socialize dredging Dinh An channel to be able to receive ships with a tonnage of 10,000 tons or higher.

These two mechanisms, when implemented smoothly, will be a great opportunity for Can Tho and the Mekong Delta to support the consumption of agricultural products in the whole region.

Can Tho wishes to receive support from USAID to implement these mechanisms smoothly and best support farmers and businesses specializing in agricultural production.

In response to the wishes of cooperation from Can Tho, USAID Administrator Samantha Power said that USAID has many experts in Can Tho fields that are interested and ready to support local development.

On this occasion, the USAID Administrator also had meeting sessions with Can Tho University's leadership and students, visited local fish farms, and met with local female entrepreneurs.