Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on July 31 called for acceleration of Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed projects, while hosting ADB Country Director for Vietnam Shantanu Chakraborty in Hanoi.
Acknowledging the bank’s support for the country over the past three decades across areas, particularly poverty alleviation in remote, border and island areas, and health care, education, and transport infrastructure development, in the nation’s post-war recovery and development, Quang said that the assistance by the lender has created motives and inspired other partners to help Vietnam record achievements during its renewal, international integration and sustainable development.
He spoke highly of the ADB’s efforts in mobilising resources for 23 projects in Vietnam for the 2023-2026 period, adding the country will continue reviewing and completing legal framework on Official Development Assistance and foreign loans to remove bottlenecks, and accelerate the implementation of the projects as well as reception and effective use of funding from partners and the ADB in particular.
The official expressed support for the bank’s restructuring efforts to improve its funding efficiency for countries.
Shantanu Chakraborty, for his part, congratulated the Vietnamese Government for maintaining high economic growth amidst global headwinds, adding the bank has forecast the Vietnamese economy to expand 6% in 2024 and 6.2% in 2025.
As Vietnam is an important partner of the ADB and the largest user of its commercial funding, the bank hopes for close coordination with the country for the harmonisation of procedures to speed up lending activities, especially for key projects and those on green growth and emissions reduction.
As of 31 December 2023, ADB had committed 458 public-sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling 16.5 billion USD to Vietnam./.
