Ho Chi Minh City, May 27, 2013. Within the SME Cluster Development and Sustainability Project, UNIDO and the HAWA (the National Association of Wood - Furniture Vietnamese) organized the "Mission Enterprise Partnerships", which was held in Vietnam from 27 to 30 May and was attended by seven Italian wood-furniture and mechanics companies.

During the event, funded by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Handicraft and Agriculture of Pordenone, took turns conferences, workshops and B2B meetings between Italian firms and fifteen Vietnamese companies (for a total of 42 meetings).

The event aimed at affirming a "CompanyToCompany" model of cooperation, through which to build the first Italian industrial Cluster in Vietnam and allow the Italian Small and Medium Enterprises to launch partnerships with Vietnamese companies operating in the same industry sector. In particular, these agreements must provide advanced training courses to transfer the know-how of the Italian wood and mechanics to Vietnamese companies and direct technical assistance to Italian and local SMEs.

Actually, the Vietnamese market presents many opportunities for foreign companies wishing to invest their capital: Vietnam, in fact, is one of the driving forces among the ASEAN member states and its economy is characterized by an annual average GDP growth rate above 4%.

Through the "Mission Enterprise Partnerships", UNIDO aimed at supporting the process of modernization of the Vietnamese wood and furniture industries mechanical, in a way that allows the local industry to compete on a global scale and to carry forward with the industrialization process of the country, greatly desired by the Vietnamese government.