Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) meets with World Bank (WB) Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Manuela V. Ferro in Ha Noi on March 21. (Photo: VNA)

Appreciating the WB’s active contributions to the country’s socio-economic development, the host leader said the Vietnamese Government welcomes the WB’s initiatives and support for countries in the COVID-19 fight, particularly the provision of 6.2 million USD in non-refundable aid for Viet Nam in 2020.

In the face of numerous changes with new trends in the world and the region, especially in the post-pandemic period, PM Chinh called on the WB to help the country continue accessing non-refundable aid packages, “soften” loans, and increase giving advice and sharing international experience, thus helping Viet Nam align policies with the situation in a timely manner and make use of new and sustainable growth drivers.

He also asked the bank to work closely with the country to build the Viet Nam 2045 Report that matches the country’s goals and orientations for 2030 and vision to 2045.

The Government leader suggested that in the coming time, bilateral cooperation be prioritised for major, inter-regional, and development-facilitating projects such as those on transport and healthcare infrastructure, education, climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas emission reduction, digital economy and digital transformation, innovation, macro-economic stabilisation, and competitiveness improvement.

Viet Nam will continue consulting the WB and the group of six development banks regarding measures for perfecting mechanisms and policies related to official development assistance (ODA), and quickly address obstacles so as to ensure ODA-funded projects are carried out effectively and on schedule, according to him.

The PM highly valued and asked the WB to continue giving assistance to Viet Nam in terms of capital, technology, institution, manpower, and governance for climate change response and realisation of the commitments made at COP26, with equality and justice for developing countries guaranteed.

He expressed his hope that the WB Office in Viet Nam will play a greater role to become the coordinating centre for the Mekong region so as to better support strategic connectivity projects in this region.

For her part, Ferro applauded the country’s recent development attainments, especially in combating COVID-19, ensuring macro-economic stability, sustaining growth, recovering and developing the economy, and making proactive and timely moves to align policies with the situation.

She also spoke highly of Viet Nam’s considerable potential and advantages, strong determination in socio-economic development, and impressive commitments on climate change response.

The WB will continue accompanying the Vietnamese Government on the coming development path and is ready to actively assist with the building of the Vietnam 2045 Report to help the country achieve the set targets, the WB official said, adding that enhanced assistance for Viet Nam will also help promote common development of other countries in the region.