At the meeting with Ms. Carolyn Turk, WB Country Director in Vietnam (afternoon of October 27), the Prime Minister affirmed that the Government always considers the WB a good friend and a very important development partner; highly appreciates the WB's support and active contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic development since 1993 through policy consulting and financial support for ODA projects and preferential loans; and thanks the Director and her colleagues for their sharing and contributions to Vietnam.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Ms. Carolyn Turk, Country Director of the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the WB Country Director discussed specific issues, innovation in thinking, methodology, implementation methods, and administrative procedure reform in a simpler and more convenient direction to promote and implement important, large-scale projects that can turn around the situation, change the status, lead, activate, and mobilize other capital sources; as well as thoroughly and effectively implement ongoing projects, avoiding spreading and prolonging.
Regarding the cooperation orientation in the coming period, the Prime Minister suggested that the WB have many methods and models for providing and managing flexible funding to meet Vietnam's diverse capital needs; prioritize the implementation of large projects in developing strategic transport infrastructure such as the North-South high-speed railway, Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho railway, Hanoi-Hoa Lac High-Tech Park railway; renewable energy; smart agriculture, low carbon emissions; digital transformation; and climate change response in the Mekong Delta.
Currently, Vietnam still has a lot of room for new ODA loans because public debt, government debt, and state budget deficit are being well controlled by the Vietnamese Government, within the allowable threshold.
The Prime Minister said he has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to directly direct the removal of obstacles, promote project implementation and disbursement of WB capital.
For her part, WB Country Director in Vietnam Carolyn Turk highly agreed with the Prime Minister on the orientation of implementing projects with focus and key points, achieving the set goals. Along with that, she highly appreciated the vision, development orientation and commitments of Vietnam, including the fields of climate change response and emission reduction; at the same time, she shared her comments on the socio-economic development situation of Vietnam and issues that need attention in the coming time.
Specifically, the requirement to ensure energy in the context of a rapidly growing economy; exploiting the potential for selling carbon credits; the requirement for digital transformation; responding to climate change in the Mekong Delta; implementing the program of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice... Ms. Carolyn Turk said that if the program of 1 million hectares of rice is successfully implemented, Vietnam will be a leading country in this field.
The WB Director in Vietnam also made specific proposals, including solutions to remove obstacles and difficulties in implementing projects, especially large-scale projects, and affirmed that he will continue to actively coordinate with Vietnamese agencies, accompanying Vietnam in socio-economic development, especially in the areas that the Prime Minister discussed.
After the leaders of ministries and branches responded to each issue raised by the WB, the Prime Minister agreed that the two sides would establish a working group to coordinate and review regulations and procedures to amend them in the direction of streamlining and harmonizing procedures between the two sides, ensuring the removal of obstacles, shortening implementation time, improving project efficiency, and reporting to competent authorities for consideration and decision if beyond their authority. The Prime Minister said that he had assigned Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to directly direct the removal of obstacles, promoting project implementation and disbursement of WB capital.
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