Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha had a meeting with Mr. Francisco Pichon, Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in Vietnam on October 26.

Overview of the meeting between Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha
and the IFDA’s Country Director in Vietnam Francisco Pichon. 

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha said the ministry has coordinated with ministries and central and local government agencies to effectively use IFAD’s fund and set up new projects.

Since 1993, the IFAD has funded 17 projects in Vietnam with a total loan of US$372.54 million and aid of US$17.5 million in fields of agriculture, rural development and value chains to connect businesses and the private sector, and support poverty reduction. The Deputy Minister also highly appreciated the success of the projects.

In the near future, IFAD will coordinate with Vietnam to implement two projects in the Mekong Delta, including a project on smart agricultural value chain development in Ben Tre province and a project on agricultural value chain development in Tra Vinh province. These two projects have been approved by the Prime Minister and investment reports were finalized by the two provinces.

The Deputy Mister said that the ministry will work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces to complete domestic investment procedures. He also proposed IFAD to appropriately allocate resources to implement new projects in Vietnam in the near future and hoped for further cooperation.

Meanwhile, Francisco Pichon, IFDA Country Director in Vietnam expressed his gratitude to Deputy Minister Tran Xuan Ha and affirmed that IFAD is honored to be a development partner of Vietnam and commits to work and support Vietnam's socio-economic development.