Vietnam is one of the countries that stood up to the challenges of post war reconstruction of its nation. When the war ended in 1975, it was bereft of basic civic amenities, proper public health care system and adequate electricity power generation. But Vietnam hardly took two decades to limp back to normalcy from the devastation that caused by several years of war with the Americans. If one puts into perspective the statistics of destruction during the war, the time this tiny nation has taken to bounce back is minimal.
The recent visit of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to Vietnam is a reaffirmation that Vietnam has become a force to reckon with in the global economy. In Mr. Barroso’s sojourn, he praised the countries remarkable economic growth and poverty alleviation measures. He further pledged that European Commission will be allocating 300 million euros over a period of 7 years as a development aid. His visit also stressed on the betterment of human rights and reduction in corruption.
EU-Vietnam trade has reached a high of 13.4 billion dollars last year and they are aiming at 15 billion by 2010. As of September, the EU had 640 investment projects worth 8.35 billion dollars in the country, as per government figures. The EU had also given 6.7 billion dollars as official development aid since 1995. Vietnam is a perfect example to showcase the world, how an association with developed countries could transform an economically backward country which was once in tatters by war.