On March 13, 2025, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh had a meeting with the delegation from the Central Bank and the National Parliament of Timor-Leste
An overview of the meeting
The meeting was attended by Mr. Helder Lopes, Governor of the Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BCTL); Mr. Patrocínio Fernandes dos Reis, Chairman of Commission A of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste; Mr. João Pereira, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Timor-Leste to Vietnam; as well as other senior members of the National Parliament and the BCTL, and representatives from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
On the SBV’s side, there were representatives from the SBV entities, including the International Cooperation Department, the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors, the Monetary Policy Department, the Payment Department, and the Department of Legal Affairs. The purpose of the Timor-Leste delegation’s visit to Vietnam was to exchange and learn about the management experience of the SBV, including: (i) the role of the SBV in supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and (ii) the implementation of the digital transformation in the Vietnam’s banking sector.
Delivering his opening speech, Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh, on behalf of the SBV’s Board of Management, welcomed Timor-Leste’s delegation for their first visit to work with the SBV.
Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh speaks at the meeting.
Both sides discussed about the macroeconomic situation, the monetary policy management, and the banking operations in each country. Sharing with Timor-Leste’s delegation, the SBV Deputy Governor said that, in 2024, in spite of many changes and challenges affecting the supply chains around the world, Vietnam's economy continued to maintain a positive growth momentum. Vietnam's GDP growth rate achieved 7.09% in 2024, higher than the average growth rate of the region. Overall, in 2024, the CPI increased by 3.63% against that of the previous year, achieving the target set by the National Assembly of Vietnam.
In the areas of Timor-Leste’s interest, the Deputy Governor emphasized the role of the SMEs in creating employment and promoting the economic growth. Following closely the Government's directions, the SBV has issued many policies and guiding documents to create favorable conditions for SMEs in accessing credit resources.
The SBV Deputy Governor takes a photo together with Timor-Leste’s delegation.
In terms of the digital transformation, the Deputy Governor shared that the Government of Vietnam has been putting strong efforts in implementing the National Digital Transformation Program, promoting the development of a digital economy and a digital society. The digital transformation in the banking sector has achieved a lot of positive results. Many credit institutions in Vietnam have recorded over 90% of their transactions performed on the digital channels.
BCTL Governor Helder Lopes thanked the SBV Deputy Governor for welcoming the delegation, and the SBV entities for their detailed sharing of experience in supporting SMEs and the digital transformation. Similar to Vietnam, SMEs also play a crucial role in Timor-Leste's economy. Regarding the digital transformation, Timor-Leste considers Vietnam as one of the leading countries in the region in developing payment systems and fostering bilateral payment connections.
Toward the end of the meeting, Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh expressed his hope that in the coming time, the two central banks would maintain a close relationship, promoting and strengthening the bilateral cooperation. At multilateral banking integration forums, Vietnam, along with other ASEAN countries, has consistently supported Timor-Leste in its preparation and capacity building, creating favorable conditions for Timor-Leste to participate in the ASEAN banking cooperation in the future.
HY