The 22nd Annual Partnership Meeting (APM 2023) kicked off in Bac Lieu city on February 28, focusing investment options for supporting young people’s fair access to digital economy, green carbon, and sustainable community development.

Vice Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee Phan Thanh Duy gave opening remarks to welcome the participants at the event.

The meeting is an ActionAid International’s initiative, implemented continuously from 2002 onwards, to share information and improve programme management quality funded and co-funded by ActionAid-Aid for social protection Foundation Vietnam (AFV) throughout the country.

The three-day conference has been co-organized by the Development Program Management Board of the Dong Hai District and Bac Lieu Union of Friendship Organizations (BUFO), supported by ActionAid-AFV and the Bac Lieu Provincial People’s Committee, with representatives of 16 provinces and cities nationwide.

Country Director of ActionAid International in Vietnam Hoang Phuong Thao summarized program and project achievements in 2022 and orientation in 2023.

At APM 2023, local leaders with a long-term cooperation program with ActionAid-AFV nationwide, leaders of the Friendship Union of Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Can Tho provinces, press agencies, and research agencies listened to the survey results, discussing many opportunities and challenges for renewable energy for the community, especially in the Mekong Delta.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Le Hoang Minh - Chairman of Bac Lieu Union of Friendship Organizations (BUFO) - said Bac Lieu, located in the coastal Mekong Delta, is one of the most important provinces on the production map: wind power, solar power, shrimp, salt, and seafood processing in Vietnam. In recent years, natural disasters and salinity intrusion have been causing severe impacts on the livelihoods of many households. He praised the quality of the ActionAid-AFV-funded programs for Bac Lieu for over ten years.

ActionAid-AFV supported VND 100 million for the BUFO collaboratively to build and repair houses for people with disabilities.

“Through this Meeting, we hope to introduce Bac Lieu’s cooperation potential with local and international NGOs in implementing short and medium-term projects in renewable energy and sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong Delta” - Mr. Le Hoang Minh added.

Within the framework of the conference, participants will also visit several effective farming models, including the model of mangrove tree support for natural shrimp farming under the mangrove canopy, the solar pilot model in recirculating aquaculture, the anti-wolf dike system at Ganh Hao dike, Dong Hai district. Delegates can converse with households and clean energy groups in Phuoc Thang A hamlet, An Phuc commune, as well as visit the Bac Lieu prince’s house and wind power farm Hoa Binh 1, a project with an investment of over VND 5,000 billion in Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province.

At the event, ActionAid-AFV supported the BUFO 100 million VND collaboratively to build and repair houses for people with disabilities.

The seminar - Renewable energy for communities in Vietnam - Opportunities and Challenges for Mekong Delta communities - took place on the same day to discuss the potential and barriers of small-scale clean energy in Vietnam.

Over ten years in cooperation between ActionAid-AFV and Dong Hai district, Bac Lieu province, ActionAid-AFV has sponsored more than VND 26 billion for long-term and short-term programs, helping nearly 28,000 supported people to have a better life.