On February 2, 2021 at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh had a meeting with Mr. Francois Painchaud - Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Vietnam and the Lao P.D.R.
Overview of the meeting
At the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh extended his 2021 New Year greetings to Mr. Francois Painchaud and the IMF colleagues. The SBV Deputy Governor expressed high appreciation for the IMF's support to Vietnam in recent years and hoped that the cooperation between the two sides would further develop.
Mr. Francois Painchaud congratulated Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh for having been appointed as Alternate Governor of Vietnam at the IMF. According to Mr. Painchaud, 2020 was a year full of difficulties and challenges for both global economy and Vietnam. However, what Vietnam has achieved so far is a miracle and a good lesson for many countries in the world, including developed countries, to apply. Mr. Painchaud also expressed high evaluation for the efforts of the SBV in regulating the monetary policy and issuing timely support measures for the banking industry and the businesses during the pandemic in 2020. The IMF Resident Representative emphasized his impression with Vietnam's growth rate in 2020, which was one of the highest rates among all economies around the world, while many countries experienced negative growths. The IMF also noted these achievements in the Article IV Mission Report. In addition, Mr. Francois also shared that the IMF is currently conducting some researches and general analyses on the exchange rates, the trade balances, the global value chains, the digitalization and the financial technology. And the IMF is ready to assist Vietnam and the SBV by providing Technical Assistance (TA) and training relevant to these studies and analyses.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh thanked the IMF's Article IV Mission for the recognition and positive assessment of the achievements of the Government of Vietnam in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Those are important assessments, helping to enhance foreign investors' and businesses' confidence in the business environment in Vietnam. Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh also emphasized that the IMF's technical assistance and training activities for Vietnam had successfully provided in-depth expertise, with close association with the implementation of the major functions and tasks of a modern central bank; especially in the specific professional areas of macroeconomic forecasts/diagnostics, model-based monetary policy analysis, etc. This is an important resource for the SBV to build and develop a qualified human capital to undertake major professional tasks. Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh also thanked Mr. Painchaud and other colleagues at the IMF Resident Office for having played the role of a bridge between the IMF's Board of Directors and the Government of Vietnam and for having provided Vietnam with very practical advice.
In the context of the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SBV Deputy Governor hoped to receive further and more active support from Mr. Painchaud and the IMF, so as to assist Vietnam to achieve the set objectives.
Toward the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to jointly develop activities within the risk-based monitoring framework for the combat of money laundering and terrorism financing to be implemented in the coming time.
VA