Vietnam continues to cooperate with the WB in programs to promote sustainable growth.

On the morning of November 20, at the Government Office, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son received Ms. Manuela V. Ferro, Vice President of the World Bank (WB). Also attending were Ms. Mariam J. Sherman, WB Country Director for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and representatives of several ministries and sectors of Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son received Ms. Manuela V. Ferro, Vice President of the World Bank - Photo: VGP

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son expressed his pleasure in welcoming Ms. Manuela to Vietnam and congratulated Ms. Mariam J. Sherman on her new role as WB Country Director for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, effective from May 1, 2024.

Affirming that Vietnam always considers the WB a close and trustworthy partner that has significantly supported the country's socio-economic development, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Vietnam is committed to strengthening the partnership and hopes to continue cooperating with the WB in programs to promote sustainable growth, green economy, digital economy and circular economy in the near future.

During the 2023-2024 period, the implementation of WB loan projects has made significant progress, including: (i) Signing a loan of 129.6 million USD for a priority infrastructure and urban development project in Vinh city, Nghe An province; (ii) Negotiating two key projects: Development of waterways and logistics corridors in the southern region with a total capital of 108 million USD and the Environmental Improvement Project for Binh Duong province with a total estimated capital of 231 million USD.

Recently, the Government has established a working group led by the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment to closely coordinate with the WB in Vietnam to review and address challenges related to the preparation and implementation of WB projects.

"This will help shorten preparation and approval time, especially when there are differences between Vietnam's and the WB's regulations," Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that Vietnam always considers the WB a close and trustworthy partner that has significantly supported the country's socio-economic development - Photo: VGP

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the two sides need to coordinate closely to address challenges facing specific projects, such as the "Promoting Renewable Energy Development in Vietnam (REACH) Project; the Mekong Delta Sustainable Development Project Adapting to Climate Change (Mekong DPO), and the One Million Hectares of High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice Project.

Regarding the list of proposed projects in the coming years, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son welcomed the WB's proposal to lend Vietnam more than 11 billion USD in the next 5 years, focusing on key areas such as infrastructure (large-scale transport projects), energy (energy conversion and renewable energy), agriculture and projects targeting the Mekong Delta region.

"The large number of new proposals for such large-scale projects will pose challenges for both the WB and Vietnam in terms of project preparation," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, adding that the Government has actively directed many ministries and sectors to discuss and clarify policy differences with the WB and propose solutions to facilitate project preparation and negotiations.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister also suggested that the WB continue to simplify the approval process and apply a flexible approach during negotiations to address challenges.

Notably, regarding ODA policies and foreign concessional loans, the Government has agreed to amend Decree No. 114/2021/ND-CP to address challenges in identifying management agencies for projects using ODA and concessional loans when the investment is carried out by a subsidiary of a 100% state-owned enterprise.

The Government has recently submitted to the National Assembly for consideration amendments to a number of laws, including the Public Investment Law, which is expected to be passed in the coming days. The amendments aim to simplify procedures and address challenges related to disbursement and planning for projects using ODA and foreign concessional loans. This will also allow tier-II state-owned enterprises to re-lend ODA and concessional loans, similar to the subsidiaries of EVN and PVN.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming period, affirming that the Government and ministries and sectors have made significant progress in cooperating with the WB to build and complete the Country Partnership Framework (CPF), the Deputy Prime Minister requested the WB to consider feedback from relevant ministries, sectors and local authorities, complete the content of the CPF and project orientation in the next 3 years for approval by leaders of both sides.

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son also called on the WB to review and accept Vietnam's own legal regulations related to bidding, resettlement compensation and environmental issues to simplify processes and requirements in loan agreements.

Responding to the Deputy Prime Minister's comments, WB Vice President Manuela V. Ferro affirmed that Vietnam is becoming one of the successful countries in the world. The purpose of the WB Vice President's visit this time is to discuss how Vietnam can become a high-income country by 2045. That depends a lot on both internal and external factors such as people, institutions focused on development, international cooperation, etc.

According to Ms. Manuela, when reaching a higher income level, Vietnam has the conditions and ability to access more international financial markets as well as mobilize capital from many different sources to serve the development process.

Along with that, the WB fully supports the projects and recommendations that the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned; wishes to continue supporting Vietnam to find a path, breakthrough thinking, overcome challenges for sustainable development in the coming time./.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/viet-nam-tiep-tuc-hop-tac-voi-wb-trong-cac-chuong-trinh-thuc-day-tang-truong-ben-vung-157980.html