by Trinh Anh Duc
17-7-2001
President Tran Duc Luong expressed his hope for more co-operation and assistance from the World Bank (WB) in the coming years. He told visiting WB Vice President Jamil Uddin Kassum in Hanoi on July 9, 2001 that he hoped the WB would actively support Vietnam in carrying out socio-economic development projects while investing more in education and vocational training, thus contributing to accelerating the process of Vietnam's integration into the regional and international economies.
President Luong expressed his thanks to and high appreciation for the WB and the WB vice president's assistance to Vietnam in the national construction. He affirmed Vietnam's efforts in organising, managing, and effectively using foreign loans. Vietnam has always attached importance to the co-operation, investment and help of foreign countries and international organisations including the WB, President Luong said.
WB Vice President Kassum informed President Luong of his delegation's activities in Vietnam, including the signing of three credit loan agreements. Under the agreements, the WB will grant Vietnam US $526 million to implement projects on poverty reduction, transport and flood prevention in the Mekong Delta, and environmental hygiene in Ho Chi Minh City. The WB official highly valued the quality of WB-funded projects in Vietnam. He said he hoped that the WB's support would help Vietnam implement socio-economic development targets in the coming years. He conveyed the WB president's best regards to President Luong.
Earlier on July 2 and 3, WB Vice President Kassum made a working visit to Ho Chi Minh City. He was received by Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam and secretary of the municipal Party Committee, Nguyen Minh Triet. Vice President Kussum also met with leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and visited a number of economic and cultural establishments in the city.
World Bank Said Could Boost Vietnam Loans to $850 Million
The World Bank said on July 10 it could boost its lending to Vietnam to up to $850 million annually if the country maintained its reform momentum and completed a comprehensive poverty reduction plan.
Wrapping up a visit to Vietnam, the bank's vice president for East Asia and the Pacific Jamil Kassum told a news conference the country had a strong reform programme in place and the challenge was now to implement this. In his 10-day visit to Vietnam, Kassum said he had received from government officials "some very reassuring comments in this regard." He said total approved World Bank finance to Vietnam in 2001 stood at $630 million.
"We have offered to the government a continuation of the levels of support that we have this year and could increase that subject to maintenance of the reform momentum and completion of the comprehensive poverty reduction strategy," he said. "We have indicated that we could go up to an assistance level, subject to our board's approval, of up to $850 million."
The bank approved a $250 million loan to Vietnam earlier in 2001 based on an interim poverty reduction strategy paper the goverment drew up. It said future credits would be based on a full strategy paper. Vietnam is currently the second largest recipient of the Bank's soft International Development Agency loans after India.
Human rights
Asked about criticisms of Bank lending to Vietnam given the country's human rights record, Kassum replied: "I am very comfortable with the assistance to the government of Vietnam. (Its) track record in reducing poverty, of sound macroeconomic management, of focusing on key reform issues, of taking ownership of the pace and content of reform than can generate broad public support, we feel, is very encouraging. We feel the direction this country is taking...is deserving of international support and we do have broad support among our shareholding of this activity."
However, Kassum said the following 12 months would be very important to maintaining the credibility of Hanoi's reform programme and added: "The most compelling evidence of committment to reform will be results. There's a lot to be done in the next 12 to 18 months. That's why we have been stressing implementation. Results make the difference between a lower or a higher level of assistance from the World Bank."
Kassum said further progress was needed in the governance agenda for the public and private sectors, in increasing transparency, improving the legal framework and in the fight against corruption. He said he had also agreed with government leaders that additional action was needed to improve public administration and improve access to data and information.