Vietnam Expects More Support from WB: PM Dung

Vietnam expected the World Bank (WB) to continue supporting it in pursuing development goals, provide policy consultancy and share experience in dealing with bank bad debts, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said. Dung made the statement at a meeting with WB Country Director Victoria Kwakwa in the capital city of Hanoi on May 24. The country expected to keep inflation at 8% this year compared to 18% last year and limit overspending to 4.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Vietnam targeted 5.6%-5.8% growth in 2012 and would increase it to more than 6% next year, he added. Dung also noted that the Government was conducting an economic reform which would focus on public investment, State enterprises, and the banking system. At the meeting, Kwakwa appreciated Vietnam’s policies to curb inflation over the past year. However, she urged the country focus on helping enterprises, improving production and trade, improving technology application in production, and creating more jobs. Kwakwa also noted that Vietnam should enhance its control over public investment to improve its effectiveness, confirming that WB would always cooperate with and support Vietnam in its development process. Earlier, WB earlier announced it would allocate $4.2 billion for 2012-2016 strategy to support the country. The bank has provided nearly $14 billion in credit, loans and grants to help Vietnam sustain growth and fight poverty since 1993. The biggest multilateral donor WB pledged $2 billion in ODA for Vietnam in 2012. (Vietnam News May 25 p1)