Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc works with WB Country Director for Vietnam

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc chaired the Investment Promotion Conference in the US

The working session.

At the working session, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc congratulated Turk on her successful tenure in the country. The Minister highly appreciated and thanked Ms. Carolyn Turk for actively promoting the preparation and implementation of WB loan projects. Vietnam and the WB have signed five agreements with a total loan value of US$991.5 million during Ms. Carolyn Turk's 4-year tenure.

The Minister said that the Vietnamese side would try to overcome difficulties and obstacles, complete legal procedures to facilitate the implementation of ODA projects and commit to coordinate more closely with the WB in the near future.

The Minister asked the WB to continue to support in seeking for aid to soften loan interest rates, especially in the context of WB loan projects having increased costs due to the addition of content related to climate change adaptation.

The Ministry of Finance will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies to promote the process of negotiating and signing loan agreements for projects. For projects that are in the preparation process, the negotiation and signing of agreements during this period depends greatly on completing investment procedures in the country of projects, and the appropriate loan cost.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to Ms. Carolyn Turk for her contributions to Vietnam's development, especially promoting the effective cooperation between the MoF and the WB. He also wished her to achieve success in her new position as World Bank Country Director for Indonesia and Timor Lest.

Ms. Carolyn Turk respectfully thanked the Government, MoF, especially Minister Ho Duc Phoc for the assistance given to herself during her tenure.

She said that Vietnam has a huge need to attract investment to develop infrastructure, creating favorable conditions to achieve the goal of becoming a developed country by 2045. If the public investment is disbursed strongly, it is difficult to reach this target.

Believing that ODA capital is an important capital source for Vietnam's public investment in the near future, the WB representative said that resolving legal problems and difficulties in implementing ODA projects is the first priority of the country.