On October 11, 2023, within the framework of the 2023 IMF/WBG Annual Meetings held this year in Marrakech, the Kingdom of Morocco, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) attended the roundtable meeting between the IMF Managing Director and the ASEAN Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers; the meetings with the WBG/IMF Office of Executive Director for the Southeast Asia (SEA) Group.
Governor Nguyen Thi Hong speaks at the roundtable meeting between the IMF Managing Director and the ASEAN Central Bank Governors and Finance Ministers
Discussing at the roundtable meeting with the IMF Managing Director, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong expressed high appreciation for the IMF’s cooperation with and support to Vietnam over the past time. The IMF’s assessments, consultancy and information provided to Vietnam in general and the authorities in particular have been very meaningful for the management of the macro-economic policies, helping to maintain the macro-economic stability and support the economic recovery and development. In the framework of the discussions, the SBV Governor shared about the results in the macro-economic management in 2022 as well as in the nine months of 2023. Specifically, in light of unprecedented difficulties and challenges in 2022, Vietnam’s economy had recovered strongly, with the GPD growth rate of 8.02%, the highest increase since 2011; the average inflation for 2022 was 3.15%, lower than the target level for the year. Since the beginning of 2023, in light of the global economic uncertainties, the Government of Vietnam has continued to manage the monetary policy, the fiscal policy and other macro-economic policies in a flexible and proactive manner in order to maintain the macro-economic stability, control the inflation and resolve the difficulties for enterprises and the people, etc.
IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Monsio Sayeh and SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong
Also, according to the SBV Governor, in the remaining months of 2023, the SBV would continue to manage the monetary policy in a proactive and flexible manner, in close collaboration with the fiscal policy and other macro-economic policies in order to control the target average inflation at 4.5%, contributing to maintaining the macro-economic stability, supporting the economic growth.
The SBV Governor meets the IMF Deputy Managing Director
At the meeting with Ms. Anna Bjerde, WB Managing Director for Operations, when exchanging about the World Bank Group Evolution Roadmap, the SBV Governor expressed her support and compliments to the WB and the multilateral development institutions for having formulated the roadmap with the aim of changing the WBG’s operational orientations in response to new challenges. On Vietnam’s side, the SBV would put active efforts and join hands together with other member countries to realize the vision and the missions of the WBG in the coming time.
For her part, Ms. Anna Bjerde congratulated the Government of Vietnam on the encouraging results obtained in the economic recovery, and made high evaluation for the effectiveness of the cooperation between the two sides over the past 30 years. The WB Managing Director acknowledged the SBV’s efforts in the cooperation and highly complimented the SBV for having managed the monetary policy in a proactive and flexible manner, maintaining the stability of the money and forex markets, and controlling the inflation.
Previously, on October 10, 2023, at the meeting with Ms. Manuela Ferro, WB Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, the SBV Governor expressed her hope that the WB would coordinate with the relevant Government agencies to accelerate the capital disbursement of the ongoing projects, as well as the preparations for the new ones. In spite of a recent decline in the WB’s investment portfolio in Vietnam, Vietnam still asserted the WB’s crucial role in the reform and economic development process in Vietnam over the past 30 years, and the need for the WB’s companionship with Vietnam’s development in the future.
On the same day, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong attended a meeting between the WBG/IMF Office of Executive Director for the Southeast Asia (SEA) Group and the ASEAN Central Governors and Finance Ministers. At the meeting, the SBV Governor expressed her hope that the IMF and the WBG, in the implementation of their missions, would exchange openly and actively with the ASEAN member states to fully understand the unique characteristics and conditions in each country, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of their initiatives and operations.
Le Hang