As Viet  Nam is in need of resources for its production recovery, the country hopes for more support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop major fields such as infrastructure and smart agriculture, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on 22 June.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives ADB Country Director for Viet Nam Eric Sidgwick (Photo: VNA)

He made the request while hosting a reception for ADB Country Director for Viet Nam Eric Sidgwick in Ha Noi.

PM Phuc said that Sidgwick’s tenure in Viet Nam in the past five years has been a success, as evaluations and policy consultations of the ADB and the official are of great importance to the country’s economic development.

The Vietnamese Government views the ADB as one of its leading benefactors in regards to financial and technical assistance and counseling, he said, voicing his gratitude to the ADB’s technical support in the building of the e-Cabinet system.

The Government is in favour of ADB Strategy 2030, in the hope of realising the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and continuing to help country members tackle problems of hunger and poverty, development gap and climate change, among others.

He also thanked the ADB for its counseling for the Government to respond to COVID-19 in recent times, adding the Vietnamese Government has exerted efforts to complete legal frameworks on public investment and public debt management for the sake of efficient and transparent use of foreign loans.

For his part, Sidgwick said that during his tenure, he was able to witness the sound cooperation between the ADB and Viet Nam as well as the country’s development, noting Viet Nam has effectively used resources distributed by the bank.

That Viet Nam has successfully brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control is considered a remarkable achievement of the Vietnamese Government and people, he said, adding the ADB hopes to share Viet Nam’s success in battling the pandemic and economic recovery among its members.

ADB forecasts that Viet Nam could obtain GDP growth of between 4-4.1 percent, and even higher in this year.

The bank will devise a new country partnership strategy early next year and consider specific strategies and assistance to Viet Nam, Sidgwick said.

Source: VNA