On May 15, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Ms. Mariam J. Sherman - Country Director of the World Bank (WB) Office for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the WB's correct and visionary decision in establishing a regional office; conveyed his regards, wished good health and hoped to welcome WB President Ajay Banga to visit Vietnam soon.

Emphasizing that the Vietnamese Government always considers the WB an important, close and trustworthy partner, the Prime Minister thanked the WB for its many supports and positive and effective contributions to Vietnam's socio -economic development, especially in the fight against hunger and poverty reduction. At the same time, the Prime Minister asked the WB to continue supporting Vietnam in the upcoming "getting rich" process, through sharing international experiences, policy advice, etc.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked the WB for its many supports and active and effective contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic development. Photo: VGP

Regarding the more than 11 billion USD that the World Bank proposed to lend to Vietnam in the next 5 years, the Prime Minister suggested focusing this capital on projects that are "changing the status and turning the situation around", while at the same time, all parties should change the implementation method towards speed and cutting down on procedures.

At the same time, the head of the Government also proposed that the WB support capital for both the State and private sectors with preferential and more competitive interest rates, focusing on the following areas: infrastructure, especially large-scale transport projects; energy transition and renewable energy development; agricultural projects with positive impacts on the environment, climate change adaptation, such as the low-emission rice growing model that the two sides have cooperated to implement; projects in the Mekong Delta such as inland waterway transport, etc.

In particular, the Prime Minister proposed that the World Bank provide capital support for Vietnam to implement the investment project to build the North-South high-speed railway, expected to start construction in 2026, with a total capital of about 67 billion USD.

Ms. Mariam J. Sherman said that the WB President wanted to visit Vietnam soon; congratulated Vietnam on the 50th anniversary of national reunification as well as the socio-economic achievements of Vietnam in recent times. She highly appreciated the country's development strategy in the new period as well as Vietnam's strong development aspirations.

“Vietnam is on the path to becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 and is currently carrying out a brave and bold revolution in institutional reform and streamlining the apparatus. The WB is ready to support Vietnam in this process, sending more experienced experts to participate in policy consulting, promoting cooperation and implementing projects quickly and with the highest efficiency,” said a WB representative.

Also at the meeting, the two sides discussed solutions to promote the progress of a number of specific cooperation projects being implemented, with specific completion deadlines, including 3 traffic routes in the Mekong Delta region, sustainable fisheries development, etc.

The Prime Minister welcomed the proposal to promote the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the WB, and suggested a contact mechanism between the Prime Minister and the WB President to promote increasingly practical and effective cooperation between the two sides.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-tuong-de-nghi-ngan-hang-the-gioi-ho-tro-von-du-an-duong-sat-cao-toc-bac-nam-2401494.html