The World Bank (WB) Country Director for Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa, on June 4 confirmed that her institution will increase its assistance to Vietnam to help the latter achieve its development goals.

She stated this at a press briefing on the Consultative Group’s (CG) mid-term meeting to be held in Buon Ma Thuot city of Dak Lak province, on June 8-9.

The WB director said this mid-term CG meeting will offer the Vietnamese Government and its partners the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that Vietnam will face and find solutions to overcome these challenges to spur on economic development and reduce poverty.

This meeting will focus on assessing the development of Vietnam’s macro-economy; social effects resulting from the economic decline and the Vietnamese Government’s policies to combat the crisis, particularly in poverty reduction, job generation and the implementation of social welfare policies.

Those attending the meeting will discuss the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy up to 2020, measures to counter climate change and the improvement in the effectiveness of aid.

According to Kwakwa, the Vietnamese Government needs to enhance its reforms and raise its standing in the post-crisis period as well as increasing its competitive advantages to be more successful in the global market.

She said Vietnam should select premier products and well performing sectors to re-organise its national economy and improve the effectiveness of investments and Government spending.

The WB’s Country Director expressed her belief that Vietnam would continue to maintain its high growth rate.

Regarding the fight against corruption, Kwakwa noted that with the recently adopted long-term anti-corruption strategy coupled with a specific action plan, the Vietnamese Government should speed up carrying out the strategy.

Information on the State budget and budget allocations must be transparent as this serves as an efficient tool in the fight against corruption, said the senior WB official, adding that the WB is ready to help Vietnam learn from other Asian countries and foreign experts.

She underscored the effectiveness of the Vietnamese government’s solutions to maintain its growth rate and ensure social welfare, emphasising that the issue involved the disbursement of not only ODA but also public investment capital.

If the rate of disbursement is quicker, it will greatly assist the Government’s stimulus efforts, the WB official noted. (VNA)