The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an economic integration treaty signed by 11 countries in March 2018 (including Canada) and ratified by Vietnam on January 14, 2019. A recent World Bank report estimates that by taking full advantage of the opportunities created by CPTPP, the Government of Vietnam will see a 3.5 percent increase in GDP by 2020, in part driven by export growth of 4.2 percent during the same period.
This 12-month project aims to support the implementation of the Government of Vietnam’s CPTPP small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development strategy. The project will help the Vietnamese government identify business opportunities created by the CPTPP. The project will also address domestic competitiveness challenges by training up to 300 SMEs (50% women-led/owned) to improve their ability to access the Canadian market. These project objectives will be achieved through direct training and advisory support to relevant Government of Vietnam and SME representatives. Sustainability of the investment will be addressed though a train-the-trainers institutional development strategy.
The main beneficiaries are 30 Vietnamese government officials from ministries and sectoral association representatives engaged in CPTPP compliance; and 300 SMEs across economic sectors.