On June 20, 2022, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Pham Thanh had a meeting with Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad, the World Bank (WB) Executive Director for the Southeast Asia and Pacific Group Office. Also attending the meeting there were representatives from the International Cooperation Department, the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Monetary Policy Department, the SBV Office and the Communication Department.
At the meeting, Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad shared about several updates in the Report on the Climate Change Action Plan announced by the WB in 2021, and the plan for formulating a report on the competitive environment. In addition, he also briefed of the WB’s assessments of the world and regional economic situations and outlooks, the difficulties and challenges in the current context; the Group’s financing and borrowing portfolios in the fiscal year of 2022-2023; the WB’s policy on supporting the countries affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad confirmed that the WB made high evaluation for Vietnam’s economic recovery in the first quarter of 2022 after having controlled the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerated the economic recovery. In addition, he also expressed his optimism about the WB's forecasts for Vietnam’s growth rate, which is expected to reach 5.3% in 2022, a high growth rate in the context that many countries in the region are facing high inflation pressures and low economic growths. Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad also expressed his impression by the fact that the Government of Vietnam had controlled successfully the public debt ceiling, maintaining it at a safe level.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha speaks at the meeting
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha highly appreciated the cooperation and support of the WB and the Group Office in general, as well as Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad personally in Vietnam’s achievements in the socio-economic development, as well as in the finance and banking sector in the recent years. He said that the WB’s enormous support in terms of financial resources, policy consultancy, experience and good practice sharing, etc., has contributed to helping the Government of Vietnam obtain remarkable achievements in the socio-economic development, improving the people’s income and living standards, creating a foundation and premise for Vietnam to head towards becoming a high middle-income country by 2030, and a high-income country by 2045, which coincides with an important milestone of the 100th anniversary of the birth of modern Vietnam (1945 - 2045). In the context of complicated and unpredictable developments in the world and the region (the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the rising oil prices, the potential risks of inflation, the COVID-19 situations, etc.), the SBV Deputy Governor hoped for further effective cooperation with the WB and theGroup Office in the coming time, with the immediate priority given to supporting the Government in order to effectively implement the Socio-economic Recovery and Development Program, contributing to helping the economy to overcome the current difficulties, catching up with the global economic recovery process, creating a foundation and favorable conditions for the socio-economic development in the 2021-2025 period and the following years.
The SBV Deputy Governor also briefed of Vietnam's economic situation over the past months; the challenges, difficulties and orientations of the Government; the monetary policy management and the SBV orientations in the coming time. Besides, the SBV Deputy Governor also requested the WB to share its analytic reports on the impacts of the complicated political developments in Russia and Ukraine on the global financial and monetary systems, and the implications for the developing markets like Vietnam, which can provide some references for the SBV in the process of the monetary policy management and its provision of advice to the Government.
Mr. Mohd Hassan Ahmad, WB Executive Director for the Southeast Asia and Pacific Group Office
The SBV Deputy Governor also suggested that the WB and Vietnam maintain regularly high-level policy dialogues and exchanges to share updates of the WB’s new orientations and policies. He expressed his wishes that the two sides could further exchange, learn and share information on the socio-economic situations in the member countries, as well as exchanging views on the issues and activities of the Group, and the topics of common interest in other member countries that may affect the neighboring countries or the whole region
Regarding the independent technical assistance projects (not attached to any loan agreement) in the grant fund portfolio entrusted through the WB, the SBV Deputy Governor also affirmed that the SBV would accelerate the implementation of the procedures in order to receive and implement the technical assistance projects mobilized by the WB for Vietnam at an early stage.
The SBV Deputy Governor also shared about Vietnam’s recent socio-economic achievements (becoming a middle-income country, graduating from IDA, the economic growth maintaining at high levels for many consecutive years, obtaining important achievements in universal education, responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, etc.). Vietnam also wants to share its successes, especially its success lessons to all IDA member countries at the upcoming Annual Meetings to be held in the US.
Le Hang