PM Phuc expects more preferential loan assistance from ADB

At a meeting with ADB President Takehiko Nakao in Hanoi on March 30 on the sidelines of the 6th Greater Mekong Sub-region Summit (GMS-6), the Prime Minister asked the ADB to provide more technical support, assist Vietnam in capacity building and policy consultancy, and provide further aids for the country’s infrastructure, agriculture, health care system, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation.

PM Phuc reiterated Vietnam’s recognition of importance to the GMS and CLV cooperation and its readiness to work closely with member countries, ADB and development partners. 

The Vietnamese Government backs ADB’s Strategy 2030 to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to continue help its member states resolve issues such as poverty, uneven development, climate change and development of the private sector, he told his guest.

The cabinet leader called for ADB’s continued technical assistance, capacity improvement and policy consultations for Vietnam, as well as official development assistance (ODA) and loans used in prioritized fields of climate change, infrastructure, rural agriculture, education, health care and poverty reduction. 

PM Phuc appreciated the ADB’s policies of incorporating low-cost capital and special loans into a balance sheet, thereby helping to increase loan resources for member countries, from US$14 billion in 2014 to an estimated US$20 billion by 2020. 

He also praised the ADB as one of the leading capital and technical assistance suppliers and consultants, noting that the bank has funded 165 programmes and projects in Vietnam with more than US$16 billion with a focus on building roads, electricity and irrigation system, schools and hospitals. 

Nakao, in turn, praised Vietnam’s international integration and participation in large-scale free trade agreements and described the country as an important partner of ADB. The bank intends to provide more capital to Vietnam given that its economy is growing with the public debt-to-GDP ratio of nearly 61%, he said.

The ADB will provide roughly US$613 million in ADF preferential loans for Vietnam this year, he said while suggesting the country use it effectively.

The same day, PM Phuc also met with leaders of the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces of China on the fringes of the GMS-6 summit. During the meetings, he highlighted Vietnam’s desire to further step up cooperation with China.