Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and WB’s Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Victoria Kwakwa (Source: VNA)

The Government leader said the WB’s adjustment of its forecast of Vietnam’s economic growth from 6.5 percent at the end of 2017 to 6.8 percent in 2018 would help to improve investors’ confidence in Vietnam. 

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakao (Source: VNA)

The same day, PM Phuc hosted a reception for the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) TakehikoNakao, who is also in Da Nang to attend the GEF 6.The PM stressed that the Vietnamese Government is consistently pursuing the goals of stabilising the macro economy; curbing inflation; limiting public debt to below 65 percent; developing institutions, infrastructure and human resources; combating climate change and ensuring social welfare. Vietnam is committed to finishing the disbursement of the remaining 613 million USD sourced from the Asian Development Fund (ADF) in 2018, before graduating from the ADF in 2019, he said, adding that the Government has approved five projects and programs included in the 2018 list, covering health care, agriculture, tourism and transport. 

PM Phuc called on the bank to provide more technical support and policy consultations for Vietnam, while joining hands with the GEF and other donors to provide capital for socio-economic development in the country, as well as the fight against climate change

Also on Wednesday, PM Phuc met with CEO of Unilever (UK) Paul Polman who pledged to work for sustainable development in Vietnam, and encourage European businesses to invest in the country.

Prime Minister Phuc and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner discussed the UN’s reform efforts to improve transparency, representativeness and democracy of UN organisations to better support countries in realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development when they met in Da Nang city on Wednedsay. At the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need to foster Vietnam’s cooperation with the UN and the UNDP.

Meeting Director of the United Nations Industry Development Organisation (UNIDO) Li Yong, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc proposed the organization launch projects to help Vietnam develop the support industry for automobile and garment sectors and push industry towards a low carbon and sustainable direction.