Work Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim (Photo: VNA)
(VOVworld) – President Truong Tan Sang received Work Bank (WB) Group President Jim Yong Kim in Hanoi on Tuesday. President Sang said Vietnam is in increasing need of capital for infrastructure development, expressing his hope that the WB will provide Vietnam with new sources of financing. Mr. Sang hailed the WB’s offer to help Vietnam develop renewable energy, noting that this will help Vietnam improve the environment in accordance with the outcomes of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris last year.

Mr. Kim asserted the WB’s commitment to supporting Vietnam in hunting for preferential capital sources, towards realizing social and economic development objectives. He praised Vietnam as one of the world’s leading countries in poverty reduction and pledged that the WB will continue to support Vietnam in its efforts.

President Kim said Vietnam has become one of the world’s great development success stories, rising from the ranks of the poorest countries. He was speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday as part of his visit to Vietnam to attend a ceremony announcing Vietnam’s 2035 report titled: “Toward prosperity, creativity, equity and democracy.”

He said that over the past 30 years, on the strength of a nearly 7 percent average growth rate and targeted government policies, tens of millions of people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty. Kim noted that the Vietnam 2035 report reflects Vietnam’s aspirations towards becoming a modern, industrialized nation within a generation. He stressed that improvements in productivity, environmental protection and economic innovation can help Vietnam maintain high levels of growth. It will be critically important to remove barriers that exclude marginalized groups and deliver quality public services to an aging and urbanized middle-class.

Kim said the WB will continue to help Vietnam with loans, especially in the areas of climate change response and renewable energy development, adding that the WB pinned its hopes on Vietnam’s capacity to escape from the middle-income trap as the country had made big strides in health care and education, which help decide the quality of human resources as well as productivity.