An employee counts U.S. dollar bills at a bank
in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) is committed to maintaining its credit assistance of around
US$1 billion per annum to support Vietnam over the next five years, the
Manila-based institution announced on Tuesday.
ADB has
approved the Vietnam Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2016-20, a new
partnership for the Southeast Asian country to fund its recently launched
Socio-Economic Development Plan 2016–20.
Eric
Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam, said at a press briefing on Tuesday
that the annual grant will be around $1 billion, and will be focused on several
fields.
In the
education sector, for instance, secondary and high school education will be
prioritized, while insurance and public health service are the major objectives
in the field of healthcare.
“Sharing
our knowledge will also play a key role in the new CPS, with a particular focus
on strengthening the business enabling environment, promoting fiscal
transparency and public accountability, and fostering integrated and green
urban infrastructure,” he added.
ADB will
help leverage private sector investment through public–private partnerships,
improve efficiency and service delivery to citizens and gain access to new
expertise and technology.
It will
also support sustainable natural resource use as well as climate change
adaptation and mitigation measures to respond to the heightened risks facing
the country.
Having
reached lower-middle income status in 2010, Vietnam has made rapid progress
against poverty reduction and in lifting the quality of health and education,
according to ADB.
But the
Southeast Asian country is starting to face new and more complex challenges
like environmental damage, high exposure to climate change, rapid growth in the
working age population, and poverty, just to name a few.
“To help
the government address these challenges, the ADB will support investments to achieve
three key outcomes,” the ADB country director for Vietnam said.
“These
will be to promote job creation and competitiveness, to increase the
inclusiveness of infrastructure and service delivery, and to improve
environmental sustainability and climate change responses.”
ADB has
sponsored Vietnam with $5.3 billion in support and aid grants of $240 million
since 2011. The organization will continue to support Vietnam with loans of
preferential interest rates lower than that of the commercial loans until 2018.
ADB,
based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific
through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and
regional integration.
Established
in 1966, it is owned by 67 members, 48 of which are from the Asia and the
Pacific regions. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including
co-financing of $10.7 billion.
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