Vietnam is seeking continuous assistance from donors so it can successfully implement its socio-economic development strategy during the 2011-2020 period, a senior Vietnamese official has said.

When addressing the Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi on December 7, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said that Vietnam will perfect its socialist-driven market economic institutions, develop its human resources and build a comprehensively-developed infrastructure over the next ten years.

He highlighted the international community’s contributions to Vietnam ’s development in the past, which have, along with efforts by the Government and people, helped Vietnam to prevent economic decline and achieve a GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent in 2010.

In the 2006-2010, Vietnam posted an annual GDP growth rate of 7 percent on average and obtained a per capita income of 1,160 USD a year. Plus it has achieved almost all of its millennial development goals.

The Country Director of the World Bank, Victoria Kwakwa, applauded Vietnam ’s achievements, especially its successful transition from a low-income country to a middle-income country.

She underlined that Vietnam ’s proactive preparations for its 2011-2010 development strategy are an important step which will enable it to avoid a middle-income country’s problems and pursue a modern economic model.

To sustain a robust and sustainable growth rate, Vietnam needs a new method of approach instead of retaining its current development strategy, which is based largely on the country’s natural resources, said the WB official.

According to Kwakwa, Vietnam needs to develop its human resources, create a more balanced environment for State and private enterprises to operate in as well as local and foreign businesses, encourage environmentally friendly developments and adopt a policy on social development to narrow the differences between urban and rural areas and the gender gap.

The two-day meeting focuses on stabilising the macro-economy and promoting sustainable growth, in addition to public governance, transparency and the effectiveness of the State economy. They will also discuss the fight against corruption, and future relations between Vietnam and its development partners when it becomes a middle-income country.

At the meeting, the donors are expected to announce their ODA commitments to Vietnam for 2011.

In 2009, they pledged over 8 billion USD, which is the highest amount of ODA Vietnam has obtained to date./.