Vietnam’s significant achievements in 2005 deserves more confidence and a higher level of commitment as well as support from the donor communities, Deputy Vu Khoan told the 2005 Consultative Meeting of Donor to Vietnam (CG Meeting), that opens today in Hanoi.
“Last year CG meeting was successful beyond expectation with record commitments and this year event should break the record,” Khoan stressed, pointing out three aspects that he said to help donors “identify level of commitment and areas of assistance.”
They include the Government putting forward the nation’s socioeconomic development plan to discussion and inputs from both domestic and foreign communities; the importance of the 2006-2010 blueprint, which marks the turning point in terms of quality of socioeconomic development in Vietnam, and the sustainable development and the quality and efficiency of development.
Regarding the total development investment for the next five-year term, Khoan revealed that Vietnam will need about US$140 billion and 35 per cent of which is expected to come from foreign capital, higher than that of 30 per cent in the last five years.
Although Vietnam has opened two new channels for fund raising from abroad namely portfolio investment, which has been put into law and sovereign bonds in international financial market, it will still need US$11 billion worth of ODA including the amount signed but not implemented yet with an average disbursement of US$42.2 billion per year, he said.
The senior government official also committed ODA usage in three priority areas such as infrastructure; poverty reduction, assistance to the poor, remote and ethnic minorities and education and health services; and development of institutions, addressing the post-WTO issue, of human resources in localities.
However, Khoan stressed that the most important source out of the total development investment for the period will be domestic with the proportion of investment capital to GDP augmented from 37.5 per cent in the past five years to 40 per cent in the next term and contributions from local people and the private sector rising to 34 per cent from 27 per cent.
A new channel of fund raising will be the equitization of State-owned enterprises and issuance of sovereign, project and corporate bonds, he said.
Taking the opportunity of addressing the meeting, Khoan also called for supports from foreign donors to Vietnam’s attempts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and successful host the APEC 2006.
During his address, Khoan highlighted that Vietnam will have to double its efforts to join the WTO. Although he did not revealed the deadline set to get the admission, observers believed that the communists will try their best to win a seat in WTO in 2006.
The CG meeting this year takes place at a special junction as the 8th session of the 11th Parliament of Vietnam has just come to a conclusion with the adoption of major directors for the year 2006 and a number of important laws to meet the needs for socioeconomic development and international economic integration.
The upcoming 10th National Congress of the sole and ruling Communist Party will also be expected to release more major steps forward for Vietnam’s tracks.
(Source: Deputy Minister Vu Khoan’s Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the 2005 CG Meeting)
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