Partnership Forum aims for inclusive and sustainable growth

VDPF serves as a  high-level policy dialogue between the Vietnam government and its development partners on important policies and issues of shared concern to promote socio- economic development and improve the quality of life for Vietnamese people.

The forum consists of two main sessions on the key results pertaining to Vietnam’s socio-economic development in 2015, socio- economic development plans for 2016-2020 and strategic breakthroughs in socio-economic development for 2011-2020 in the context of the nation’s deeper integration into the world economy.

The participants reviewed the implementation of UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), discussed the mid-term review of the implementation of strategic breakthroughs in socio-economic development, and proposed solutions to develop a modern market economic mechanism and finance infrastructure and human resource development.  

At the forum, development partners praised the Government of Vietnam for its great efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability, stimulate growth, revamp institutions, develop infrastructures, and improve the quality of human resources as well as many important results in international integration.

World Bank (WB) Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa applauded Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements during the 2011-2015 period. The country’s average growth rate reached 6 % compared to the regional average of 5.6%. Its per capita income rose by 4.8% at US$2,200 and poverty rate dropped from 20.7% in 2010 to 11.3% in 2014. 

According to her, one of the big challenges facing Vietnam in the next five years is resources for development programmes in the context of narrowed preferential loans. 

"Poverty, has continued to decline vary rapidly.  Using the GSO-World Bank poverty line, the overall poverty rate fell from 20.7% in 2010 to 13.5% in 2014, meaning that more than 6 million people were lifted out of poverty in just five years.  Infant and child mortality continued to show steady progress. Similarly, stunting of children fell from 29.3% to 24.9%4.  To increase access to health services, health insurance coverage increased from 60% of the population in 2010 to 71% of the population in 2015.

In his speech, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung underscored the need to ensure rapid and sustainable development in the five-year overall objective with a focus on achieving an economic growth rate of 6.5-7% on the basis of macroeconomic stability, promoting cultural development, ensuring social justice progress and social welfare thus gradually improving  people’s living standards.

To reach the goal, the Vietnam Government needs to continue consistently carrying out three strategic breakthroughs relating to institutions, human resource development, application of technological advances, and mobilization of resources both domestically and abroad to invest in developing synchronized and modern infrastructure systems, the cabinet leader emphasized.

PM Dung pointed out a score of measures to be taken in the future including strengthening macroeconomic stability, ensuring firmer major balance of the economy to achieve growth objectives associated with economic restructuring and efficiency across all sectors aiming to increase productivity, keep public debts within safe limits and improve the efficiency of public investment.

Vietnam affirms its unwavering foreign policy of peace, friendship, cooperation, equal and mutually-benefited development with all nations, Dung said, adding that it wishes to be a friend and trusted partner with countries and territories around the world. 

The country will continue improving the capacity of state and economic management, perfecting a rule-of-law state and bettering legal institutions. It will strive to ensure people’s basic rights and encouraging their involvement in building development policies while enhancing administrative reform to improve the investment and business environment and national competitiveness. 

On the occasion, PM Dung extended his sincere thanks to partners while expressing a wish to continue receiving support and assistance from international organizations, countries, donors to help Vietnam go ahead with its socio-economic development process.