Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Vice President of the World Bank (WB) Manuela V. Ferro and WB Country Director Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia Mariam J. Sherman at their meeting in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Monday for visiting Vice President of the World Bank (WB) Manuela V. Ferro and WB Country Director Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia Mariam J. Sherman, along with their associates.

PM Chính expressed his appreciation for the WB’s contributions to Việt Nam's socio-economic development since 1993, with total funding of up to US$24 billion, especially in poverty reduction.

Highlighting Việt Nam's commitment to a deeper partnership, he requested the WB’s continued support for programmes and policies promoting sustainable growth, green, digital, circular, sharing and knowledge-based economies.

Ferro, for her part, noted that the WB has shown trust by establishing its regional office for Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia in Hanoi. She affirmed that the lender is eager and ready to work closely with Việt Nam to ensure that the regional office operates efficiently, benefiting all the three countries.

She underlined ongoing collaboration with Vietnamese ministries and agencies to review existing projects and develop a new phase of the Việt Nam-WB Country Partnership Framework.

Expressing readiness to welcome the WB President to Việt Nam, the Vietnamese leader hailed the proposed $11 billion in WB lending for Việt Nam over the next five years, focusing on large-scale infrastructure, energy and agriculture.

He encouraged the WB to consider flexible capital management models and adjust its approach to provide preferential loans for critical infrastructure projects. These projects, he emphasised, should have a broad impact, connect regions, create development space and effectively address climate change concerns. Specifically, he mentioned the North-South high-speed railway, the HCM City-Cần Thơ railway, the Hà Nội metro line, and the development of 1 million ha of quality rice in the Mekong Delta.

According to him, Việt Nam has made changes in governance, investment structure, procedure reform, and a people-centric approach. This will ensure a harmonious balance of interests among the people, the State, and businesses.

The host hoped that the WB would continue assisting Việt Nam in accessing the global carbon credit market, creating new avenues to finance Việt Nam's climate commitments and goals.

The WB Vice President pledged the WB's continued partnership with Việt Nam to achieve its development goals for 2030 and 2050 through concrete actions and projects. The WB, she assured, would collaborate with Việt Nam to discuss and adopt solutions to expedite and enhance the efficiency of their joint work, as expected by the PM. — VNS