Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc receives ADB President Takehiko Nakao during a reception in Hà Nội yesterday.— Photo VGP

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam treasures its ties with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), considering the institution one of the top donors in the supply of capital, technical assistance and policy consultation, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc told ADB President Takehiko Nakao during a reception in Hà Nội yesterday.

The PM thanked ADB for funding more than 160 programmes and projects worth over US$15 billion in Việt Nam. 

As this year marks the institution’s 50th anniversary and its Việt Nam representative office’s 20th anniversary, he said the Government would support and actively join its celebrations. 

The leader expressed his wish for the nation to receive more of ADB’s preferential capital to continue with economic reform and poverty reduction, adding that the Government has reshuffled the national steering committee for official development assistance and preferential loans, fine-tuned legal regulations, and accelerated ODA disbursement. 

Việt Nam was committed to utilising ODA in general and ADB’s funding in particular for its economic growth, he stated. 

According to the PM, Việt Nam backed ADB’s strategy until 2030 to deal with poverty, unequal development and private sector development, as well as its continued reform on operations and workforce to improve efficiency in the future. 

The PM said Việt Nam valued the design and realisation of the Country Partnership Strategy with ADB, and hoped that the lender would work closely with relevant Vietnamese agencies throughout the process. 

He asked for the bank’s continued financial support for Việt Nam’s climate change response, particularly to combat drought in the Central Highlands and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

Nakao informed the host of his visit’s important outcomes and hailed Việt Nam’s economic achievements during its renewal process, saying that the country’s experience provided a lesson for other countries.

He also pledged ADB’s continued assistance to Việt Nam to cope with climate change.

Receiving Nakao the same day, politburo member, secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyễn Văn Bình said Việt Nam pursued its goal of stabilising the economy, controlling inflation and promoting sustainable economic growth in tandem with ensuring social welfare and environmental protection. 

Việt Nam was determined to successfully conduct the economic reform set in its socio-economic development strategy for 2011-20, he stated, expressing his wish that ADB would offer preferential capital, technical assistance and policy consultation to Việt Nam to deal with challenges and integrate into the world. 

The guest expressed his support for Việt Nam’s development orientations and key tasks and said he believed that Việt Nam would continue with comprehensive reform, maintain stable development and achieve the goals in its long-term development strategy. — VNS