Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong (front, right) and ADB Country Director Andrew Jeffries (front, left) at the signing ceremony on November 24 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, authorised by the Government, and Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Andrew Jeffries on November 24 signed an agreement on the bank’s emergency grant of 2.5 million USD to help Vietnam address natural disasters’ consequences in the central region.
The grant is allocated from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, which was designed to provide support to ADB’s developing members affected by major natural disasters.
Cuong thanked ADB and Jeffries for assisting Vietnam in responding to natural disasters, dealing with their aftermaths, and reconstruction efforts, especially in the central region.
However, he noted, the re-construction of important infrastructure facilities and the settlement of natural disasters’ consequences require stronger efforts by the Government, ministries, sectors, and the localities affected by storms and floods, as well as support from domestic and foreign organisations and individuals.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and ADB are working together to consider proposing the Government approve an emergency loan for re-building infrastructure facilities, with priority given to important works, so as to swiftly recover socio-economic activities in disaster-hit central provinces, Cuong said.
For his part, Jeffries said after getting approval, that emergency loan from ADB will be used as part of the Government’s budget to help the affected localities.
ADB hopes that the Vietnamese Government will issue the approval soon so that a loan agreement can be signed in March 2021, he added./.
VNA
