The Aus4Transport partnership is now stronger than ever
IN BRIEF
The partnership between the Government of Australia and the Ministry of Transport in Vietnam is starting to bloom. After three years of Aus4Transport working to support MOT to enhance Vietnam’s transport infrastructure, the collaboration between the two countries has already set a strong foundation to continue working towards success.
A series of interviews conducted with key representatives of the Program, proved the partnership is healthy and evolving towards sure success. Officials from various departments of MOT, agencies and Project Management Units (PMU), highlighted the active cooperation and commitment of the parties involved and praised the high-quality technical assistance received from Aus4Transport.
The innovative model of partnership in which Aus4Transport is based, has been challenging at times. However, all parties have made formidable efforts to establish strong partnership principles, leading to a common vision and shared management of responsibilities. Through these interviews and a follow-up Reflections Workshop, stakeholders identified successes and areas of improvement that will be taken into consideration to guide the way forward.
KNOW MORE…
The Australian Embassy’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Vietnam launched in February 2018 Aus4Transport, a collaboration with the Government of Vietnam aiming to attract investment in Vietnam’s transport infrastructure sector that, ultimately, will promote economic development and help alleviate poverty in the country.
This collaboration, based on a true partnership and aligned to both countries’ strategic priorities, brought to the scene a new model of cooperation in development assistance programs, where project implementation was jointly conducted, having MOT, DFAT and Aus4Transport working side by side in each step of the process.
This new system, which brings multiple advantages, such as full ownership of all stakeholders, capacity development within government agencies and integration of best international practices with the current Vietnamese regulatory framework, has also posed some challenges. As the continuous consultation requires additional time and effort from the different parties, in several occasions, progress has been slower than expected.
In order to overcome these challenges and ensure the achievement of the desired results, all parties in the Program have worked to keep the good health of the partnership. Through several workshops and in-depth interviews, the partners in several sections of MOT (DPI, ICD, PMU2, PMU-W, TCQM, DOE, ITM, VIWA, etc.) had the opportunity to sincerely express their view about the Program and provide suggestions for improvement. These consultation mechanisms aim to bring better and faster results, optimise the way of working and ensure long-lasting change.
As a result of these efforts, after three years, the key stakeholders are more committed and engaged than ever before. They are proud of sharing a common goal while counting with expert international financial and technical assistance and are enthusiastic about the possibilities for change and growth that Aus4Transport is bringing.
