Twinning Program in full flight

The Australian and Vietnam Water Association&;s twinning program, supported by the Australian Water Partnership, is now in full swing after the signing of Twinning agreements at Ozwater&;17. This includes the successful completion of the first trips by Vietnam utilities to Australian utilities adjacent to Ozwater&;17. Each trip included between two and four Vietnam representatives who participated in workshops and site visits organised by each of their partnered Australian utility. 
 

Photo 1: The twinning signing ceremony on Day 1 of Ozwater&;17 with key representatives from all Australian and Vietnam utilities as well as representatives from the Australian Water Association, Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association and Australian Water Partnership.

The water utilities involved in the program have now developed and commenced implementation of their twinning plans of action.  The plans of action focus on sharing of knowledge and resources to improve key areas of management and expansion of water and wastewater management facilities and the development of skills in business planning, finance and contract management, as well as technical skills essential for operation and maintenance of new facilities.

Each twin has now undertaken their first mission to their respective twins with further trips now being planned for the duration of the program. The experiences to date have enabled a significant staff development opportunity and broader cultural awareness to further strengthen the Australia-Vietnam relationship.

A central platform for knowledge sharing amongst the twins and across the broader water sectors of Australia and Vietnam will be Vietwater, Vietnam&;s largest water conference and exhibition to be held in Ho Chi Minh City 8-10 November where twinning workshops and activities will take place.    

The twinning signing ceremony was also undertaken on Day 1 of Ozwater&;17 with key representatives from all Australian and Vietnam utilities as well as representatives from the Australian Water Association, Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association and Australian Water Partnership.