12th Vietnam Consultative Group Meeting - Premises for New Development Step from 2006 to 2010

12^th Vietnam Consultative Group Meeting - Premises for New Development Step from 2006 to 2010

The 12^th Vietnam Consultative Group Meeting will be held in Hanoi on December 1-2, 2004 with the participation of officials from the Vietnamese Government and representatives from 50 bilateral and multilateral donors. The Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan and the Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc, will include senior ministry officials. This is a forum for useful discussions between the Vietnamese Government and development partners about opportunities and challenges for Vietnam. This year’s meeting will focus on the implementation of socio-economic targets for the 2001-2005 period and premises for a new development in the 2006-2010 period, an improvement of Vietnam’s competitiveness during its integration into the world economy, alongside brief reports about Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), challenges during the implementation of the commitments and reports on the Government’s anti-corruption initiatives. The meeting will also concentrate on discussing a further improvement of the effectiveness of official development assistance (ODA) with an update of the programme on building comprehensive capacity of the Government in ODA management and the amended Decree N⁰ 17 on ODA management.

At the 11^th Consultative Group meeting, donors pledged to provide US$2.8 billion for Vietnam to help the country’s anti-poverty and development programmes. At a press conference on November 23, Martin Rama, chief economists at the World Bank predicted that at the 12^th meeting donors would pledge to provide the same amount for Vietnam.

Before the 12^th Consultative Group Meeting, the Vietnam Business Forum, an activity that takes place along with Consultative Group Meetings for both Vietnamese and foreign enterprises, will take place on November 29.  It’s hosted by the International Finance Corporation, an organisation under the World Bank Group for supporting the private sector and the Ministry of Planning and Investment. This year’s forum will include a special discussion about the latest global research on investment environments with a presentation by Warrick Smith, author of the 2005 World Development Report entitled 'A better investment climate for everyone,' and discussions about measures to apply in Vietnam.

• Lan Anh