On January 8, 2021, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh had a meeting with Mr. Andrew Jeffries, ADB Country Director for Vietnam.
At the meeting, the SBV Deputy Governor congratulated Mr. Andrew Jeffries on his appointment as the ADB Country Director for Vietnam, and further expressed his hope that the two sides would continue to closely cooperate and regularly exchange information in order to come up with good initiatives and solutions, as well as effective activities for the enhancement of the cooperative relations between Vietnam and the ADB.
Mr. Andrew Jeffries, ADB Country Director for Vietnam, thanked the SBV Deputy Governor for his time and warm hospitality. He also congratulated Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh on his new role as the Alternate Governor for Vietnam in the ADB. Mr. Jeffries also expressed his beliefs that the cooperation between the ADB and the SBV would be further strengthened and developed in the coming time.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh at the meeting
On behalf of the SBV’s Board of Management, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh expressed high appreciation to the ADB for having approved a loan worth USD 371 million to support Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in the context of complicated developments of the pandemic. The Deputy Governor suggested that the ADB accelerate the coordination with the relevant ministries and agencies to implement this loan agreement.
Besides, in December 2020, the Grant Agreement for the Project on “COVID-19 Relief for Women-Led Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” was signed under the witness of Madam Nguyen Thi Hong, SBV Governor, and Mr. Andrew Jeffries, ADB Country Director for Vietnam. Mr. Nguyen Kim Anh shared that the Grant came as a timely and significant contribution to the efforts of the banking sector in particular and the Government of Vietnam in general in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the coming time, the SBV would closely coordinate with the ADB and the involving commercial banks in order to effectively implement the project and provide the very much needed support to the COVID-affected enterprises.
Exchanging about the ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for Vietnam (2021-2025), the ADB Country Director for Vietnam shared that the ADB has been developing the new Country Partnership Strategy for Vietnam (2021-2025), which will correspond to the orientations in Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan for the same period.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh expressed his hope that the new Country Partnership Strategy for Vietnam would go along with the priorities and the orientations for the ODA of the Government, as well as be in line with Vietnam’s new status upon graduation from the concessional ODA fundings.
In addition, from the ADB’s recommendation, the SBV had reported to the Government on the new budget support loan for the Program on In-depth Development of the Financial Sector and Financial Inclusion – sub-Program 2. Accordingly, the Government has requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to arrange the budget and consider to access this loan in order to support the Government’s expenditure plans during this difficult time. Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh assured that the SBV would closely coordinate with the MoF, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the ADB to accelerate this loan proposal.
The ADB Country Director for Vietnam at the meeting
Moreover, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh also expressed high appreciation for the various ADB’s technical assistance projects for the banking sector over the past time. Among those projects, the Deputy Governor specially mentioned his positive assessment for the ADB’s support to help the SBV develop the Web page of the National Steering Committee for Financial Inclusion within the FSDIP - SP1 project. As a member of the National Steering Committee and head of the Standing Group directly engaged in managing the operations of the Web page, Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh assessed that the Web page would strongly support the National Steering Committee in the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, providing official information on financial inclusion, and enhancing financial education.
Also at the meeting, the ADB Country Director for Vietnam extended an invitation for Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh’s participation in the 54th ADB Annual Meeting, which is scheduled to be organized virtually in May 2021 due to the complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accepting the invitation from the ADB Country Director for Vietnam, the SBV Governor also congratulated the ADB on having successful organized its 53rd Annual Meeting in virtual format. Mr. Nguyen Kim Anh further expressed his beliefs that with the thorough preparations of the ADB, the 54th ADB Annual Meeting this year (2021) would also be a success, and promised to join all of the meeting sessions.
Le Hang