PM receives WB Country Director

PM Nguyen Tan Dung (L) and WB Country Director in Viet Nam Victoria Kwakwa, Ha Noi, July 24, 2015 - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

PM spoke highly of the World Bank (WB)’s support for Viet Nam in both policy consultation and technical and financial assistance.

The host leader said that despite positive achievements, the Government has yet to feel satisfied and is fully aware of difficulties and challenges that need to be addressed in the time ahead.

The Government leader stressed the resolve to control public debt within acceptable limit at below 65% as regulated to ensure its national financial safety and gradually reduce the rate after 2017. At the same time, the Government will restructure public debt, reduce overspending, cut down regular expenditure, meet the date of payments and effectively use loans.

New loans will be spent on building necessary socio-economic infrastructure facilities while great efforts will be made to minimize wastefulness and corruption, he added.

The PM also informed his guest that the Vietnamese Government is taking drastic measures to speed up the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) as well as the restructuring of poorly-performing commercial banks.

The government said PM Dung is also set to go on with reducing bad debt, he said, adding that the goal to bring bad debt to below 3% in September is quite feasible and targets to restructure the agricultural sector, while continuing administrative procedure reform, improving the business climate and increasing the economy’s competitiveness.

He also hoped that Viet Nam would gain access to loans of the WB’s International Development Association (IDA), and receive the bank’s help in making the Viet Nam Report 2035.

For her part, the Director said that Viet Nam continued to record good progress in economic development, with stable macro economy and exchange rates.

She spoke highly of Viet Nam’s efforts and policies to tighten fiscal spending, control public debt, address bad debt, renovate SOEs and restructure the banking and agricultural sectors.

The WB is willing to provide official development assistance (ODA) and IDA loans for Viet Nam, as well as supporting and cooperating with the country in restructuring the agricultural sector, she stated.

She also affirmed her priority to cooperate with Vietnam’s ministries and sectors to prepare for the signing and implementation of credit agreements during the 17th term of the IDA, with around US$ 1.5 billion signed and another US$ 2 billion to be signed in the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years.

The lender is also making effort to complete and announce the Viet Nam Report 2035 in the time ahead, said the guest.