President Takehiko Nakao announced the commitment before wrapping his three-day visit to Vietnam that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledges to give strong support to Vietnam through loans of about US$1 billion each year, right after it finalizes the drafting of a new Country Partnership Strategy for Vietnam in the 2016-2020 period, said ADB President Takehiko Nakao.
ADB President Takehiko Nakao
|
The ADB expects that Vietnam would attain 6.7% economic growth in 2016, equal to that of 2015 despite the serious drought the country has faced. Growth rate was forecast at 6.5% in 2017. ADB’s guarantees of up to US$20 million a year will be provided to support trade in Vietnam. The ADB will support export and import companies in Vietnam, including the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The program has launched 4,479 transactions and supported commercial activities worth more than US$6.9 billion in Viet Nam, 75% of which were used for the SMEs. Since 2009, the program has sponsored more than 8,000 SMEs in the region through 11,500 transactions, worth US$23.2 billion.
Regarding priorities in the bilateral partnership in the coming time, Mr. Takehiko Nakao announced that the lender will back Viet Nam’s efforts to fulfill its sustainable development goals; expand public healthcare stations; increase the number of people joining health insurance; improve secondary education and vocational training.
Vietnam will also get support in infrastructure development, including public transport systems, power transmission and distribution, rural electrification, urban renewable energy infrastructure, irrigation and water resource management.
The ADB will work for stronger connectivity within the Mekong Sub-region Cooperation Program, including the East-West Economic Corridor, he added. Climate change adaptation will be one of ABD’s focus areas to provide technical assistance and loans. In addition, the ADB will help the Vietnamese Government design clear policies on suitable energy distribution to match its COP21 commitments, he said.
For Vietnam's part, while receiving ADB President Takehiko Nakao, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the announcement that Vietnam will effectively optimize ADB-funded capital in favor of its socio-economic development.
Vietnam's leader acknowledged and appreciated the valuable contributions of President Takehiko Nakao in particular and ADB executives in general for Vietnam over the last tenure and hoped that Mr. Takehiko Nakao would be re-elected as the ADB President in the 2016-2020 term. Vietnam 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 Vietnam. 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. Vietnam is committed to optimizing ODA in general and ADB’s funding in particular for its economic growth.
