ADB works with MoF to mobilise more loans for sustainable development

ADB works with MoF to mobilise more loans for sustainable development

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang received Scott Morris, vice president for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on April 15 to discuss how to improve the efficiency of loan use.

Thang said that since Vietnam resumed its lending relationship with international financial institutions 30 years ago, ADB has been an important development partner, providing about 30 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loans for investments in important areas such as transport, agriculture, sustainable development adapted to climate change, health, and education.

Vietnam is aiming to become a high-income country by 2045, so the country needs to mobilise a huge amount of capital for important infrastructure projects and contribute to digital transformation, green transformation, and sustainable growth.

The minister asked the ADB to cooperate more closely with Vietnam to accelerate the implementation of ADB-funded projects, and also increase new loans for projects in Vietnam's sociological development plan.

ADB vice president Scott Morris praised the Vietnamese government's recent reforms and the goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and high-income by 2045, which also opens up opportunities for the ADB to expand its lending and support to help Vietnam achieve its strategic development agenda.

The ADB wishes to accompany Vietnam, supporting the government to minimise difficulties for economic development and business operations in the face of US tariffs. Next week in Washington, DC, the ADB will contribute its voice to relevant US agencies to harmonised tariff solutions between the US and affected countries.

To speed up the implementation of public investment, including those using ODA and preferential loans, the government has been reviewing relevant legal provisions, including the Law on Public Investment, the Law on State Budget, and the Law on Public Debt Management to simplify procedures, increasing decentralisation and reducing administrative procedures.

The ADB and the government have completed procedures for a loan agreement for projects in Quang Tri and Phu Yen provinces, and will be able to continue signing new loan agreements, the minister said.

Moreover, the ministry is working closely with the ADB in Hanoi to review its loan portfolio and build a plan for the government in the next 3–5 years.

Morris said the ADB is looking to diversify lending and support methods, and believes that policy-based lending is suitable to support and provide capital to implement innovations and reforms.

Discussing private sector lending, the minister said that Vietnam supports the ADB's policy of private sector lending for Vietnam's development.

VIR