Vietnam PM Approves Foreign-funded Social Projects

The Vietnamese Prime Minister has approved two social projects funded by the World Bank (WB) and the Italian government, the Vietnamese government said on its website July 20. Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, was authorized to sign a project on natural disaster risk management and related legal documents with the WB’s representative. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assigned Vietnamese Ambassador to Italia to sign an Italia-funded assistance project of ethnic minorities in the central highlands of Dak Nong. The Ministry of Justice will take responsibility to provide required legal procedures to facilitate the two projects come into force as soon as possible. This year, the WB pledged $2.498 billion in official development assistance (ODA) while Italia committed $17.33 million for Vietnam.