Vietnam lays out ambitious plans as donors call for more reform
Vietnam lays out ambitious plans as donors call for more reform
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Hanoi
Vietnam plans to nearly double its GDP to US$1,000 per capita
by 2010 with the help of some $11 billion in foreign aid, Deputy
Prime Minister Vu Khoan told international donors on Tuesday
Vietnam's communist government laid out its ambitious new
five-year plan to international donors who are expected to pledge
a record amount of foreign aid at the annual Consultative Group
(CG) meeting this week. Last year, donors pledged $3.4 billion in
assistance.
"The plan for 2006-2010 will mark the turning point in terms
of quality of development in Vietnam," Khoan said in his speech
to open the CG. He said GDP per capita would go from $640 to
$1,000 within five years.
Khoan said Vietnam hopes to have $11 billion in overseas
development aid to fund the reforms over the next 5 years.
Vietnam has become a darling of the international donor
community for its rapid growth and poverty reduction. Within a
decade, it cut poverty in half, from 58 percent of the population
in 1993 to 29 percent in 2003.
The European Union in particular praised the "remarkable
achievements" in poverty reduction, noting that new government
figures show poverty dipping below 20 percent this year.
But the EU and other donors called on Vietnam to focus not
only on economic growth but societal issues like corruption,
governance and human rights.
Vietnam last month passed an anti-corruption law, but donors
say the proof will be in the implementation.
Klaus Rohland, the World Bank's representative to Vietnam,
called on Monday for a "second wave" of reform that would invest
in education and transform Vietnam's health care into a more
market-based system.
Khoan on Tuesday pledged that the government will focus on
improving daily lives of people, not just rapid growth.
"The ultimate goals of development in Vietnam are to improve
the material and spiritual life of the people and ensure social
equity," he said.
The CG donors continued to meet behind closed doors on Tuesday
and will announce their pledges on Wednesday afternoon.