The signing was held at the Ministry of Planning and Investment on September 27 in the presence of Ambassador-Head of the Delegation of the European Commission (EC) to Vietnam Markus Cornaro and representatives of EU member states and other donors.

Under the agreement, the EC provides 8 million euros in non-refundable aid to co-finance the World Bank’s PRSC 4, totally worth 184.5 million euro. The purpose is to support the implementation of the Vietnamese Government’s Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy with the ultimate objective of fostering growth and reducing poverty in Vietnam.

Following the EC’s first participation in PRSC 3 last year, its 8 million euro contribution to PRSC 4 is part of the total funding worth 63.7 million euros, or 34.5 percent of the total contributions by the EC and five EU member states.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Mardus Cornaro highly praised Vietnam’s achievements in poverty reduction, particularly in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. He added that the EC is finalising PRSC 5 with a total aid amount of 9 million euros.