Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said Vietnam was highly appreciative of the support from its developed partners and pledged to spend project funds effectively and in a transparent manner.
Speaking at the 2012 mid-year Consultative Group (CG) meeting for Vietnam in Dong Ha City in the central province of Quang Tri on June 5, Deputy PM Hai focused on poverty reduction and mitigation from natural disasters in the central provinces of Vietnam.
He thanked the support of developed partners who have assisted Vietnam in its fight against poverty and natural disasters, saying that Vietnam expected its partners to continue providing the necessary funding for the country to grow socio-economically and sustainably.
The developed partners were unanimous in congratulating the Government for successfully stabilising the macro-economic situation by effectively implementing Resolution 11.
In his speech, Deputy PM Hai affirmed that maintaining macro-economic stability remained a high priority for the government even as it attempts economic growth.
While the government has focused on stabilising the economy, it has kept its expenditure target for the poor and will continue to do so, said Hai.
The Vietnamese government has adopted challenging policies in a bid to convert the central provinces into a dynamic and sustainable economic region as well as improve people’s living standards.
In his opening speech at the meeting, Bui Quang Vinh, Minister of Planning and Investment, stressed that this year’s conference focused on discussion and dialogue on major issues affecting implementation of policies and guidelines of the central government on poverty reduction and disaster mitigation, and proposals for improving coordination, integration and effective implementation of donor and NGO assistance in the central provinces.
Ms. Victoria Kwakwa, Country Director of World Bank in Vietnam and Co-Chairperson of the Consultative Group, said the World Bank had supported Vietnam in its fight against eradiation of hunger and poverty and advised that the country pay more heed to poverty among the ethnic minority groups, climate change and natural disaster prone regions, high dependence of people on welfare, and immigration.
At the end of the conference, there was a broad consensus amongst participants on the need to make further progress on a number of fronts, including better coordination between central and provincial authorities, between different provinces, and amongst donors, awareness raising, better river basin planning and flood management systems, expanded coverage of early warning systems, natural disaster risk planning, and integration of risk assessment into infrastructure investment planning.
Developed partners complimented Vietnam for its shift from a short-term approach to a more focused challenge in risk management and prevention. They concluded that areas for improvement are well chosen and all partners agreed to support the efforts of the Government.
