Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives ADB Country Director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – As Vietnam 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 June 22.
He made the request while hosting a reception for ADB Country Director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick in Hanoi.
PM Phuc said that Sidgwick’s tenure in Vietnam 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 Vietnam as well as the country’s development, noting Vietnam has effectively used resources distributed by the bank.
That Vietnam 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 Vietnam’s success in battling the pandemic and economic recovery among its members.
ADB forecasts that Vietnam 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 Vietnam, Sidgwick said./.
