Since the 1990s, Vietnam has maintained steady economic growth, said the JICA in a press release in support of the loans. By 2010, Vietnam achieved status as a lower middle-income country, which had been a national goal, while drastically reducing its poverty rate. 

Tariff barriers were abolished within the ASEAN region in 2015, and while progress is being made toward industrialization goals, Vietnam must make economic structural and governance institutional reforms.

These include improvements to the financial system, as well as developing infrastructure to improve the investment environment, to provide mid- to long-term macroeconomic stabilization and strengthen international competitiveness.

Vietnam must also raise the income of rural residents who make up about 70% of the country’s population and have a higher poverty rate than urban regions, improve public sanitation which has worsened with rapid urbanization and address vulnerabilities to the effects of climate change.

With such circumstances, these ODA loans will support policy and institutional improvements with financial assistance and policy dialogue to both strengthen international competitiveness and address climate change. 

VOV