The 20th anniversary of development cooperation  between Viet Nam and donors, Ha Noi, October 17, 2013 – Photo: VGP

More than 300 representatives from ministries, sectors and localities, foreign embassy officials, and representatives of international organizations also attended the ceremony.

Prime Minister Dung said that the donors accompanying Viet Nam all the way of the doi moi (renewal) process together with their commitments to ODA provision for the country in the last 20 years reflect consensus of and support for the Government's proper social and economic development policies and their benefits to people, especially the poor and ethnic minorities in rural and mountainous areas.

 The donors’ support for the Government’s social and economic development policies has helped build trust and encourage businesses and foreign investors to enhance trade and investment activities in Viet Nam. The foreign direct investment (FDI) capital for Viet Nam's GDP jumped from 2% in 1992 to 18.97% in 2012.

The ODA that Viet Nam has received in the past 20 years, an average of about US $3 billion a year, is a significant financial resource which have been used effectively to support Viet Nam's efforts to change comprehensively the socio-economic life and attain economic development achievements and significant social progress.

This capital source has contributed to maintaining the macroeconomic stability, especially in the early years of the 1990s when Viet Nam reformed and adjusted the economic structure, reformed State-owned enterprises, supported the development of the private sector as well as the reform of the banking and financial systems.

This is also an important source to help strengthen and improve the quality of public services such as transportation, energy, healthcare, education and training, as well as policy development and the reform of management of these sectors to meet requirements in the transitional period to the market-oriented economy, agricultural development, poverty reduction, urban and rural environment improvement, disaster mitigation and response to climate change.

At the ceremony, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), on behalf of the donors, highly appreciated the socio-economic development achievements and poverty reduction Viet Nam has made in the past 20 years. 

They also hailed the good relationship between the Vietnamese Government and the donors./.

By Vien Nhu