Ha Noi (VNA) – The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has at last called for a simplification of procedures relating to official development assistance (ODA) projects.
The Prime Minister asked MPI to design a common form of reports for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies that can be used by both foreign donors and partners from Viet Nam.
The ministry was also asked to fine-tune regulations on tendering and resettlement issues.
The PM’s instructions comes after commitments to improve the efficiency of foreign aid were made by the Vietnamese Government at the annual Consultative Group (CG) donor meetings.
At the mid-term CG meeting held in June, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem once again stressed that the Government has been attempting to accelerate administrative streamlining of ODA, reforms, the fight against corruption while making improvements to the legal system on ODA capital management.
According to MPI, from 1996 to 2006, international donors pledged more than 33.5 billion USD to Viet Nam. 2007’s figure is expected to reach a record 4.4 billion USD.
These data were significant particularly in the world context of declining ODA capital, showing international donors’ confidence in Viet Nam’s renovation and socio-economic development policies.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Country Deputy Director, Omkar Shresth, said it was Viet Nam’s active approach to the international community’s assistance that has installed confidence in the country’s development despite its slow ODA capital disbursement rate.
“In many other countries, the country is in the back seat, donors are in the front seats,” but here in Viet Nam, the nation is willing to listen to its donors and “the country is in the driving seat”, he said.
World Bank officials also had optimistic look at Viet Nam as one of effective ODA users, which succeeded in implementing foreign-fund projects to record sustainable economic growth rates and poverty reductions.-Enditem
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