WB, IMF Affirm More Support for Vietnam

The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have pledged to continue their assistance for Vietnam’s development projects in the years to come, said top executives of the two organizations. WB Group President Jim Yong Kim and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde made the pledge at a meeting with President Truong Tan Sang in Washington DC on July 24 as part of his on-going visit to the U.S. Mr. Sang suggested the WB continue providing Vietnam with official development assistance (ODA) for infrastructure development while proposing the IMF boost policy consultancies and support Vietnam’s economic restructuring and growth model transformation process. The WB Group President and IMF Managing Director hoped that by pursuing the current comprehensive measures, Vietnam will cope with the current macroeconomic challenges. On the same day, President Sang attended a reception hosted by U.S. enterprises where he called upon U.S. firms to widen operations and run long-term business in Vietnam, particularly in high technology, energy, manufacturing, environment, information technology, agriculture development and human resource development. Since 1993, the WB, the biggest multilateral donor of Vietnam, has provided nearly $16.62 billion in loans and grants to help the country sustain growth and fight poverty. (Thoi Bao Ngan Hang – Banking Times July 26 p2, Quan Doi Nhan Dan – People’s Army July 25)