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.