Peer Learning Activity in LED: Sparkling Highlights in Developing Local Economy
DELGOSEA Peer-Learning Visit on Local Economic Development” - Cambodian Delegates to Vietnam Cities, 2-3 November 2017.
UCLG ASPAC’s focus on advocating local economic development (LED) is without question. The concept has been presented to members through various forms and one of them is the LED peer learning visit of Cambodian delegates to Vietnam cities on 2nd and 3rd November 2017. It was the most recent commitment realized to hone the capacity of local government in Cambodia following the success of LED’s Workshop held in Seberang Perai in December 2016.
Delegates visited Bat Trang pottery village in Vietnam and had intense discussions regarding ‘One Village, One Policy’.
During the two-day visit, delegates from Cambodia were richly exposed with government strategy in boosting creative economy business, managing tourism from natural resources and cooperating with related stakeholders in preserving heritage site. Visit to Bat Trang pottery village enlightened delegates on how the ‘One Village, One Policy’ practice is implemented in the area. Delegates were also exposed to the key features of Ha Long City. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Son, Vice Secretary General of ACVN highlighted achievements of the city, which include a commitment to ensure socioeconomic development of the locality; cultivation on potentials and advantages of locality with focus on tourism, service, trade, and transport; strengthening the administrative reform and institutional mechanism; paying attention to the capacity building for city officials; and implementation of social security, healthcare, education and ensure social security in the locality. The above efforts have placed Ha Long city as a priority destination for investments of strategic investors.
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Other interesting feature is that Ha Long Bay is also known for its biodiversity and long-time cultural-historical values. The achievement has put Ha Long Bay as a must-visit tourist destination in Vietnam. Participants were informed that according to statistics, in the first 10 months of 2017, the city has generated nearly 40 million USD. In achieving this, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Son mentioned a series of methods have been applied in the management of heritage and tourist activities. The city has not only focused on research of scientific activities (clarifying heritage values and fluctuation), but also well implemented environmental protection, focused on management of natural disasters and rescue activities, strengthened and renewed propagation and advertisement methods on tourism, invested in infrastructure, and trained staff. In addition to the above strategies, delegates were also introduced deeper to ACVN and NLC/S as organization: their vision, mission, scope of work, activities, and programmes; to benefit participants for future collaborations and cooperation.