The leader of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to support Vietnam’s transition to high middle-income status, with up to US$1 billion in sovereign loans to be made available annually.

Takehiko Nakao (L), President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on June 27 – PHOTO: ADB

ADB President Takehiko Nakao attended the opening session of the Sixth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF-6) Council at the Furama International Conference Center in the central coastal city of Danang on June 27.

During his visit, Nakao met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairman of the Danang City People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho.

In his meeting with the prime minister who opened the Assembly, Nakao commended the Government for maintaining macroeconomic stability and steering Vietnam’s economic growth to 7.4% in the first quarter of 2018, the strongest first-quarter growth in 10 years.

Efforts to rein in the fiscal deficit, combined with higher economic growth, have helped reduce the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product, according to Nakao.

ADB plans to mobilize concessional co-financing and provide high-value knowledge-enhancing products and services, including in the areas of intraregional and urban transport, agricultural and rural development, poverty reduction, waste water and drainage and climate change resilience.

During his talks with Danang Chairman Tho, Nakao discussed ADB’s ongoing support to improve the water supply and solid waste management in the city.

Nakao also visited the Danang Business Incubation Center, which receives technical assistance from the Mekong Business Initiative and financial aid from ADB and the Australian government. The center provides business support services to entrepreneurs and promotes green technology in addressing the city’s environmental and traffic congestion challenges.

Nakao, who also took part in a panel on “Delivering Transformation,” noted that ADB could expand its collaboration with GEF.

“Overall, the proposed GEF programming directions covering climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, international waters and chemical and waste management are well aligned with ADB’s draft Strategy 2030 priorities for the environment and climate change,” he said.

“Working together, ADB and GEF can assist developing countries to move their economies toward sustainability. This can include developing new knowledge and making innovative project investments, as well as creating green financing mechanisms to help unlock private sector financing for development.”

The GEF Assembly – the organization’s highest governing body which meets every four years – is expected to endorse US$4.1 billion in financing to support the global environment between 2018 and 2022.

Since 2004, GEF has approved grants to ADB for 55 projects, amounting to US$246 million, of which 19 projects have been completed. Currently, ADB and GEF are partnering to support 36 projects being executed in 21 countries across Asia and the Pacific, with US$178 million in grants from GEF linked to US$2.1 billion in financing from ADB.

These projects support a range of innovative approaches. In Vietnam, ADB and GEF have collaborated on three projects to address climate change, protect biodiversity and improve the standard of living in cities.

In the Trung Truong Son Mountain Range, the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors project, with a US$4.3 million grant from GEF and a US$30 million investment from ADB, is supporting local communities to improve their livelihoods, protect biodiversity and enhance forest management.

In Ha Giang, Hue and Vinh Yen, GEF and ADB are collaborating on a “Green City,” planning approaches for sustainable and resilient urban development through a US$14.2 million grant from GEF and US$178 million in financing from ADB.

In 2017, ADB and GEF completed an innovative project to test low-cost bioengineering and other nature-based approaches to address flood risks for rural infrastructure in mountainous areas.

During the GEF Assembly, the GEF Council approved a US$15.5 million grant to co-finance the Sustainable Management of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Program.

Led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and ADB, this new program will apply strategic actions to protect ecosystems, fisheries and livelihoods in eight countries bordering the Bay of Bengal.

As part of the program, ADB will support wastewater treatment and solid waste management to address pollution in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River through the proposed Second Mandalay Urban Improvement Project.

ADB, based in Manila, the Philippines, 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 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled US$32.2 billion, including US$11.9 billion in co-financing.

PM calls for more financial, technical support from WB

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

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the World Bank (WB) to continue its financial and technical support for Vietnam during his meeting with the WB’s Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Victoria Kwakwa in Da Nang on June 27. 

The Government leader asked for the bank’s transitional support to help Vietnam with the International Development Association (IDA) graduation, thus maintaining the country’s achievements in socio-economic development and poverty reduction. 

Phuc 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 improve investors’ confidence in Vietnam. 

 He informed Kwakwa about Vietnam’s smooth disbursement of the WB’s loans, especially during 2012-2016, saying the Vietnamese Government has urged localities and agencies to speed up the implementation of the projects.

Talking about the World Economic Forum on ASEAN to be hosted by Vietnam in September 2018, the PM expressed his hope that the WB will send representatives to this important event. 

Kwakwa, who is in Vietnam to attend the sixth Global Environment Facility (GEF 6) Assembly, said Vietnam’s hosting of the GEF 6 and other big international events recently has reflected its increasing role and prestige in the international area. 

She congratulated Vietnam on its high economic growth, with the figure recorded in the first quarter of 2018 being the highest year-on-year increase over the past decade. 

To increase the economy’s resistance against external shocks, Vietnam should push forward with reforms, including financial reforms, she suggested. 

Recalling PM Phuc’s request for the WB’s support for Vietnam’s renewable energy projects, Kwakwa said the bank hopes to cooperate with the country in this promising sphere.  

SGT/VNA