On 13/04/2020, the EU Delegation launched a new Call for Proposals under its ARISE+ Vietnam trade related assistance programme. The call seeks to “Promote high quality exports from Vietnam to the EU”. It was split into two lots, namely “Promotion of environmentally and socially responsible practices among Vietnamese exporters” (Lot 1) and “Internationalisation of Vietnamese SMEs” (Lot 2), with a total EU contribution of € 1.6 million equally split between Lot 1 and 2. The call is open to eligible not for profit organisations such as business associations, academic institutions, local authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations and International Organisations.
Documents can be found at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome&userlanguage=en under the reference EuropeAid/168350/DD/ACT/VN. The deadline for submission of concept notes is 01/06/2020. Implementation of grant projects will start in Q4 2020 for a total duration of 3 years.
The timing of the Call is important. It is an opportunity for the EU to promote exports from Vietnam after the ratification of the EVFTA but also to boost production and market access in a context of post-COVID-19 recovery. Recent instructions from the Vietnamese PM to make full use of the EVFTA and use preferential trade agreements to cushion the impact of the crisis go in the same direction.
This call was foreseen in the Financing Agreement signed between the EU and Vietnam to finance the ARISE+ Vietnam trade related assistance programme. The total budget for the Vietnam component is € 6.4 million, 2/3 of which are allocated to technical assistance activities. TA activities cover SPS, quality infrastructure and EVFTA implementation. They were put on hold due to the COVID-19 crisis. Experts are currently planning their arrival in Hanoi in May or June.
ARISE+ is active in all (developing) ASEAN countries, with a regional component managed out of Jakarta and national components in individual member states (ARISE+ website: https://ariseplus.asean.org/).