Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc and Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, the World Bank (WB)’s Vice President for the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region, with delegates attending the working session (Photo: VGP/Tran Manh)

Deputy Prime Minister Phoc urged the WB to enhance collaboration in areas where it has strengths and Vietnam has urgent needs, such as strategic infrastructure, logistics, clean energy, urban development, digital transformation, data governance, and climate adaptation. He also suggested cooperation on ODA and concessional loans through new development finance instruments for transport infrastructure and coastal resilience; and the implementation of climate-related loans under a “climate co-benefits” approach.

He said Vietnam will soon carry out numerous major projects and hopes to continue effective cooperation with the WB in developing transport infrastructure, energy, digital transformation, and climate change adaptation. He requested that the WB Vice President continue to pay attention to and accompany Vietnam, and work closely with the WB Country Director in Vietnam to promote the effective implementation of cooperative initiatives and realize the shared priorities of both sides.
Appreciating Vietnam’s development goals and orientation for the coming period, the WB Vice President, his colleagues, and Deputy PM Phoc held candid discussions on several issues, such as implementing reforms to reduce processing time and accelerate project progress; mobilizing capital for major projects through a combination of public and private financing; investing in projects applying science, technology, digital transformation, and innovation; and applying advanced technology in infrastructure development.

They also focused discussions on responding to climate change; preventing erosion, subsidence, saltwater intrusion, and flooding in the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City; implementing the project on sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice linked to green growth in the Mekong Delta; and providing financing support for private businesses implementing wind power, solar power, and mining projects.