Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has highlighted the important theme of the ninth Vietnam-France Finance and Economic Forum, which meets leading concerns of Vietnam’s urban authorities.

Addressing the forum, themed “Sustainable development of Vietnam’s suburban areas” in Hanoi on March 19, Deputy PM Hai said urbanisation is a criterion defining the nation as belonging to the group of developing nations or the group of developed nations.

He cited the World Bank’s assessment that Vietnam is a nation with the fastest urbanisation rate in Southeast Asia. The rate of urban population rose from 19 percent or 11.8 million people in 1986 to 30.5 percent or 26.3 million people in 2010.

Like many other developing countries, Vietnam’s urban areas are facing a number of challenges such as rapid population growth, wastefulness in land use, the shrinking agricultural area, a loss of traditional craft villages and the gap in living conditions between people in and outside the city, Hai said.

He said he hopes that Vietnam will gain more experience, to make solutions and build mechanisms and policies for sustainable management and development of Vietnam’s suburban areas.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Cao Viet Sinh, co-chair of the two-day event, said the forum is expected to put forward proposals to help policymakers and managers solve challenges faced by Vietnam’s urban areas.

His co-chair Jacob Christian said the forum will present 15 reports focusing on developing industries and land management in urban areas, the potential of craft villages in Hanoi suburbs, the impact of urbanisation on people’s lives, solutions and financial assistance, and traffic in Hanoi./.