Attending the first run of the 2009 program in Vietnam are some 55 civil servants representing key ministries and policy making agencies.

A total of 405 senior and middle-level Vietnamese government officials who attended the program in 2007-2008 found the training very relevant and beneficial.

It is expected that by the end of 2010, some 1,100 government civil servants will have benefited from the program.

ADB and Vietnam have also signed a US$1 million grant agreement to prepare a rural infrastructure project to address poverty in the northern mountain provinces, the bank said in a separate statement Tuesday.

The grant will fund the formulation of a project to provide remote mountain communities in 15 provinces with better access to markets, social services, sub regional trade centers, as well as improved social and environmental management.

Source: Thanh Nien