[Viet Nam] WB provides US$100 million for Viet Nam’s poverty drive

from VN Economy

The local World Bank (WB) decided to provide Viet Nam with US$100 million in concessional credits in support of its poverty reduction drive.

The agreement on the credit was signed on Sept. 5 in Ha Noi between the Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Le Duc Thuy and World Bank Country Director Klaus Rohland.

The interest-free loan, which will be due in the next 40 years, including a 10-year grace period, is part of the WB’s poverty reduction support credit 5 (PRSC 5). It is designed to support the country’s endeavours to promote economic growth and reduce the poverty rate.

Addressing the signing ceremony, WB Director Klaus Rohland highly rated Viet Nam’s achievements in reducing the poverty rate and maintaining a sustainable growth rate over the recent past. “The successes of Viet Nam are unique worldwide,” he noted.

Over the last 10 years, Viet Nam has halved its poverty rate by pulling more than 20 million people out of poverty. The country has fulfilled the poverty reduction goals set by the United Nations ahead of schedule.

The WB pledges to cooperate with international and bilateral donors in order to lend a hand to the country’s poverty reduction endeavour. So far, it has financed more than 650 million USD to Viet Nam’s programmes on phasing out poverty across the country.

Numerous multilateral and bilateral donors are expected to contribute to the PRSC 5 operation through grant finance or parallel lending, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, Australia, Canada, Denmark and Japan.