Vietnam commits to effective spending of ADB capital

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and ADB President Takehiko Nakao, Ha Noi, June 16, 2016 - Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu

PM Phuc made the announcement on June 16 in Ha Noi while receiving ADB President Takehiko Nakao.

The host leader acknowledged and appreciated the valuable contributions of President Takehiko Nakao in particular and ADB executives in general for Viet Nam over the last tenure and hoped that Mr. Takehiko Nakao would be re-elected as the ADB President in the 2016-2020 term.

Viet Nam, said PM Phuc, always respects the ties with the ADB, regarding the lender as one of the leading sponsors of capital, technical support, and consultations.

The PM thanked ADB for funding more than 160 programs and projects worth over US$15 billion in Viet Nam.

As this year marks the lender’s 50 th anniversary and its Viet Nam representative office’s 20th anniversary, he said the government will support and actively join its celebrations.

The leader expressed his aspiration to receive more of ADB’s preferential capital to continue with economic reform and poverty reduction, adding that the government has reshuffled the National Steering Committee for Official Development Assistance and preferential loans, fine-tuned legal regulations and accelerated ODA disbursement.

Viet Nam is committed to optimizing ODA in general and ADB’s funding in particular for its economic growth, he stressed.

The Government leader took the occasion to seek lender’s supply of financial support for Viet Nam’s climate change response, particularly drought in the Central Highlands and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, and other priority fields.

For his part, President Takehiko Nakao lauded Viet Nam’s economic achievements during its renewal process especially poverty reduction, saying that the country’s experience provides a lesson for other countries.

He also pledged ADB’s continued assistance to Viet Nam to cope with climate change.

The guest leader recommended Viet Nam speed up disbursement progress of ADB-funded projects and showed the willingness to back the host country to develop infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, renewable energy, climate change, and poverty eradication and other fields like controlling of NPLs, effective budget collection, SOEs restructuring, manpower training, banking, and the private sector.

The same day, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh also hosted a reception for the ADB President.