The Vietnamese prime minister has approved to set up a negotiation team to work with the World Bank about loan agreement and relevant legal documents for the Program 135 Phase 2 Support Credit.
The team includes representatives of Government Office, State Audit, ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development. The group was assigned to collaborate with relevant agencies to prepare necessary procedures for the negotiation and report to the PM after completed negotiation. Under the program’s 2nd phase, Vietnam targets to cut poverty rate to 10% among ethnic minorities and mountainous communes, 90% of local households using power and clean water, to narrowing the gap of living conditions of local peoples as well as eliminate free emigration and ease degraded ecosystem. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is rushing to finalize a database on poverty reduction serving for a national target program on poverty reduction for the 2011-2015 period, which is expected to facilitate making policies and monitoring poverty reduction in the country. Vietnam targets to cut the poverty rate to between 4% and 5% by 2020, from the current rate of 9.45%, under the new poverty line took effect from Jan 1, 2011, the ministry said. (baodientu.chinhphu.vn Mar 3)
