Overview

The new World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Vietnam guides the Bank Group's engagements in the country from 2018 to 2022.

Endorsed on May 30, 2017, and reflecting the priorities expressed in the World Bank Group's 2016 Systematic Country Diagnostic, the Vietnam 2035 Report, and the government of Vietnam’s 2016 - 2020 Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP), the CPF has four prioritized areas:

• inclusive growth and private sector participation;
• investment in people and knowledge;
• environmental sustainability and resilience; 
• good governance.

Building on the World Bank Group’s continued strong engagements in Vietnam, the CPF introduces a number of strategic shifts:

• Comprehensive engagement to strengthen private sector development and participation across sectors;
• Support to achieve the financial sustainability of public services and transfers;
• Support to poverty reduction amongst ethnic minorities, through activities that generate jobs and incomes;
• Multisector engagements to strengthen linkages between education and the labor market; and
• Promote and stimulate low carbon energy generation.

Throughout the CPF period, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will also leverage its investment and advisory services and mobilize long-term financing for investments that have strong socioeconomic benefits, and support the development of Vietnam’s capital markets other private finance. Meanwhile, through its traditional political risk insurance and credit enhancement products, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will complement World Bank lending and IFC engagement by mobilizing private investment and supporting commercial borrowing by the government and potentially also by State-Owned Enterprises.

Last Updated: Apr 19, 2018

Vietnam is transitioning to a market-based economy. The World Bank’s partnership with Vietnam since 1993 has contributed to achieving notable results.

As of August 2018, the Bank has provided US$24 billion in grants, credits and concessional loans to Vietnam. Vietnam's existing portfolio consists of 46 active projects and 55 advisory and analytic activities, with total net commitments of almost US$9.5 billion.
The 25 years partnership between Vietnam and the World Bank Group in development of the Vietnam’s Inland Waterway Transport has brought about enormous transformations to this important sector in Vietnam. Investment in the sector brings about momentous social, economic and environmental results as it is a low-cost, high capacity and environmental friendly mode of transport. 

With Bank funding and expertise, in just 4 years Vietnam has expanded access to full-day preschool to 84 percent of five-year-old children – up from 66 percent in 2011, through the School Readiness Promotion Project. The quality of preschool instruction improved through the provision of professional development for many Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers and managers. More than 2,000 core teachers were trained to improve the capacity of some 250,000 ECE teachers to adopt a child-centered learning approach. Primary school enrollment reached 99 percent of eligible children, and school attendance ratios for boys and girls have largely been equalized. Personalized lessons brought a more hands-on approach to learning for ethnic minority students.  For higher education, a series of operations supported the formulation of a new legal framework that provides a greater level of autonomy to higher education institutions and increases their accountability. The Bank also supports Vietnam with a study related to future jobs.

Vietnam is pursuing reforms and investments that aim to promote green growth and address its high vulnerability to climate change and has taken decisive steps since signing the Paris Agreement. This partnership is critical for achieving the targets of Vietnam’s Nationally Determined Contribution, by mobilizing resources, providing technical assistance and supporting policy change.

Strengthening laws and policies addressing prevalent forms of conflict of interest – such as gift taking, nepotism and using insider information for personal gain – can improve the integrity and efficiency of the public. A recent joint report by the Government of Vietnam and the World Bank, and supported by the UK Government, offers insight into policy reforms that would address conflicts of interest, including reforms of legislation. 

Urban upgrading programs have improved the living conditions of millions of urban poor. In many cities, low-income areas suffer from frequent flooding and poor sanitation, posing serious health and environmental risks. The Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project, active in Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, address these challenges. Benefiting some 7.5 million people, the project provided 95,000 micro credit lines for home improvement and income generation to families whose incomes were in the bottom 40 percent. 

Urban sanitation remains an important challenge in many cities. The Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Sanitation Project, which directly benefits more than 1.2 million people, has helped transform the city by improving sanitation and reducing flooding. The Coastal Cities Environmental Sanitation Project provided drainage, wastewater collections and treatment plants as well solid waste management facilities and conducted a comprehensive capacity building program, benefiting 800,000 citizens in Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang. 

Forest plantations are important sources of income for low-income families. From 2005 to 2015, more than 43,000 households in six provinces in central Vietnam received micro credit and technical support for small-holder plantation development. The Forest Sector Development Project, involving some 76,500 hectares of forests, is the first, and to date, the only project in Vietnam using the approach of lending to small-holder plantations – an option proving to be much more sustainable than the traditional approach of subsidizing plantations. 

Water supply and sanitation facilities have expanded. Urban water supply has doubled in small towns to 60 percent between 2006 and 2009 and rose from 75 percent up to 95 percent in cities for the same period. Rural access to clean water has seen an increase from 36 percent to 70 percent between 1999 and 2009. The Bank has helped support this development through investments in rural water and sanitation in the Red River Delta Region, and through innovative programs such as the Global Output-Based Aid funded project in partnership with the East Meets West Foundation. Between 2005 and 2013, the Red River Delta Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project provided access to clean water for nearly 1.3 million people in four provinces through community-based approaches. Households received access to low-interest loans to build or rehabilitate more than 48,000 hygienic toilets and sanitation facilities, increasing the percentage of households with hygienic toilets from 25 percent to 87 percent.

Early-warning and forecasting capacity for integrated disaster risk management continues to improve. Implemented in 12 provinces, the Disaster Risk Management Project helped construct 11 major projects for flood and storm mitigation infrastructure such as safe harbors, river dykes, evacuation roads and drainage pumping stations. More than 210,000 villagers in 30 communes implemented structural measures, including multi-purpose evacuation centers and drainage canals, along with non-structural measures such as the development of Safer Commune Plans and evacuation drills. 

Electricity now reaches 95 percent of the population. Every day for the past ten years in Vietnam, 9,000 more persons were connected to the grid for the first time. In only five years, the country doubled its power generation capacity to 25,000 MW in 2010. Under the Second Rural Energy Project, more than 2.7 million people in some of Vietnam’s poorest areas gained access to electricity. 

The Third Rural Transport project is helping poor and marginalized in 33 provinces, particularly some of the most difficult mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam, connect to better markets and services. Today, over 90 percent of the population is now connected by all-weather roads. Averaging 4.5 percent of GDP investment, Vietnam leads Asia in its investments in roads infrastructure. 

With 6.5 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles per year, automotive accidents are a national concern in Vietnam. Addressing one of the highest accident rates in the world, the Vietnam Road Safety Project is working to bring health, education, police and highway agencies together in order to save lives. 95 percent of motorcycle riders now wear a helmet. 

The first Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project has improved the quality of life in remote mountainous areas. Amongst the results: more than 118,000 families gaining access to clean water and more than 350,000 families benefiting from improved health care. A follow-on project has built on these earlier gains and also strengthened the disaster risk preparedness of communities, as well as pilot market linkage service initiatives. As a result, participating families are enjoying incomes at least 10 percent higher than the average of communes outside of the project areas. Almost 80 percent of common-interest farming groups cite better access to market information and higher productivity. 

Women’s rights to land titles increased. Following the success of two Bank-supported pilot projects in the early 2000s, the government passed a Land Law making it mandatory for all land titles to be issued jointly in the names of husbands and wives (watch the video). The Bank-supported Vietnam Land Administration Project aims to issue some 5 million jointly held land titles by 2013.

Last Updated: Oct 5, 2018