ADB urged to change funding approach for projects in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should prioritize more on programs and projects with a transformative nature and have major impacts on socio-economic development, rather than solely focusing on poverty reduction goals as in previous phases.

The Prime Minister and ADB’s President Masatsugu Asakawa. Photos: Nhat Bac

This should be approached with innovative thinking, methodologies, and procedures, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam-ADB partnership held today [March 13].

Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always considers ADB as one of its crucial, friendly, reliable, and effective development partners. He highly appreciated the presence of the ADB President in Vietnam on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of cooperation, which demonstrates a strong message for the future with a broader vision and more effective collaboration.

Providing an overview of Vietnam's development journey, the Prime Minister stated that Vietnam, perhaps, suffered the most losses and pain caused by wars since World War II. However, after nearly 40 years of renovation from a poor, backward, war-torn country, Vietnam has achieved significant, historically meaningful accomplishments.

Leaders of the Government and ADB.

The nation has never before possessed such resources, potential, international stature, and credibility as it does today, noted.

These achievements are attributed to the spirit of self-reliance and resilience under the leadership of the Party, State, and the unity of the people and businesses, along with the support and assistance from international friends and partners, including ADB.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam never forgets the countries, friends, and international partners who supported and assisted Vietnam during its most challenging times. Vietnam values and appreciates ADB as one of the most enthusiastic partners providing effective support in various fields, particularly in poverty reduction in remote, mountainous, border, and island areas, as well as in healthcare, education, transportation infrastructure, serving the urgent needs for recovery and development in the post-war years.

ADB's support has also provided motivation and inspiration for other partners to assist Vietnam, contributing significantly to the achievements that Vietnam has made on its path of renovation, international integration, and sustainable development.

According to the Prime Minister, after 30 years, cooperation between Vietnam and ADB has gained more experience and is now in the most mature and stable phase. Furthermore, Vietnam and Japan have become Comprehensive Strategic Partners, and cooperation between the two sides knows no bounds, as stated by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, especially regarding science, technology, and innovation.

Overview of the meeting.

Therefore, cooperation between ADB and Vietnam needs to focus more on investment in development, programs, and projects with transformative effects, rather than solely focusing on poverty reduction goals as in previous phases, with innovative thinking, methodologies, and procedures, Chinh said.

In the spirit of mutual victory, balanced benefits, and shared risks, the Prime Minister hoped that ADB would continue to support Vietnam in terms of capital, technology, institutional building, capacity enhancement, human resource development, policy advice, and provide motivation and inspiration to other development partners to implement programs and policies aimed at promoting sustainable growth, enhancing the competitiveness of the economy, and achieving the country's development goals by 2030 and 2045.

The Prime Minister (r) and ADB's President during a separate meeting on the same day.

Vietnam remains committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability, ensuring major balances under all circumstances, and controlling inflation to avoid affecting people's lives while promoting growth to enhance national strength, Chinh said.

The prime minister looks at projects that was funded by ADB in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister proposed that both sides establish a working group to implement cooperative activities, with the Ministry of Planning and Investment as the focal point for project development and implementation. He hoped that both sides would strive even harder for better and more effective cooperation over the next 30 years, based on sincere, reliable, heartfelt sentiments.

Prior to this, during a separate meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, along with the leaders of ministries and sectors, discussed the resolution of specific difficulties and obstacles in cooperation between the two sides.

Sharing at the commemoration, ADB’s President Masatsugu Asakawa expressed that he had visited Vietnam many times, but this was his first visit as President of ADB. He congratulated Vietnam on its impressive and comprehensive socio-economic development achievements over the past few decades, despite facing numerous challenges due to the global economy and increasing challenges, especially climate change.

The Vietnam-ADB relationship has developed rapidly over the past 30 years, achieving many successes. Vietnam is one of ADB's most active partners. The total ADB support for Vietnam has reached$18 billion. The ADB President reaffirmed ADB's commitment, emphasizing that ADB always cares about supporting Vietnam in achieving its important and ambitious goals, intending to mobilize resources for about $3 billion for approximately 23 projects in Vietnam during the period 2023-2026.

ADB is ready to continue supporting Vietnam in arranging funding for projects in areas highlighted by the Prime Minister such as energy transition, large-scale infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships, emerging sectors like artificial intelligence, deeper involvement in the global semiconductor supply chain, private sector development, contributing to unlocking investment capital from the private sector as well as FDI.

The ADB President highly appreciated Vietnam's participation in addressing global issues such as empowering women and particularly Vietnam's commitments, vision, determination, efforts, and solutions in coping with climate change, aiming for zero net emissions by 2050.

As Asia-Pacific's climate bank, ADB has committed $2.1 billion to Vietnam to implement the JETP as well as the ETM - a new financial instrument for the early retirement of coal-fired power plants and the use of cleaner energy sources. "This is a special opportunity for us," he said. Recognizing that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has closely directed cooperation activities, he stated that ADB will not only better meet Vietnam's requests and desires for support but also streamline procedures and processes as requested by the Prime Minister.

For her part, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong emphasized ADB's role and contribution to Vietnam's development in general and the invaluable support of ADB in the banking sector in particular, through technical assistance, policy advice to the State Bank of Vietnam, loan programs, and commercial financing to commercial banks.

As the representative agency of the Vietnamese Government at ADB as well as other international financial and monetary organizations, throughout 30 years of collaboration, the State Bank of Vietnam has actively and effectively fulfilled its role as the Government's representative, a vital link connecting ADB's policies and activities with the national development strategies and policies for each period, thereby maximizing the utilization of support resources for priority and significant programs and projects of the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities.