ODA may surpass last year’s record
14 Dec 2006
Official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam this year may be more than last year’s record sum of US$3.748 billion, said World Bank Country Director Klaus Rohland on Monday.
Some 50 bilateral and multilateral donors are expected to announce their official development assistance (ODA) commitments for next year, at the two-day Consultative Group (CG) Meeting for Viet Nam, which opens in Ha Noi tomorrow.
For the first time a Vietnamese Prime Minister will be in attendance at the meeting, as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is slated to participate.
Klaus said Viet Nam’s implementation of WTO commitments will be a major challenge for the country, and will bring institutional changes and market reforms to areas including finance, State-owned enterprises and public governance.
Opportunities and challenges for Viet Nam will be highlighted in the Viet Nam Development Report 2007, prepared by the World Bank and ten major donors, and will be released at the CG meeting.
The Viet Nam Business Forum, a dialogue between the Vietnamese Government and the business community, is also being held in Ha Noi today. The meeting is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank’s financial arm, the International Finance Corporation.
In a press release, the World Bank went on to praise the efforts of the government in its development policy for the 2006-2010 period. "With the four pillars of structural reform, social participation, sustainable environment and good governance - the five year plan is a reliable and financially sustainable plan to promote growth and reduce poverty in Viet Nam within the next five years, " the World Bank said.
The Bank did go on to warn of the challenges Viet Nam would face in bringing a balance between fast economic growth and sustainable development.
Source: VNS
