NEW YORK CITY, September 21, 2021—This evening, World Bank Group President David Malpass met with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
President Malpass affirmed the World Bank’s support for raising living standards in Vietnam and encouraged rapid acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.
President Malpass and President Phuc discussed Vietnam’s reform agenda and priorities for economic recovery, including integration into global trade and value chains, digital transformation, environmental protection, and infrastructure development. President Malpass highlighted the importance of debt transparency, wide disclosure of loan contract terms, and careful selection of investment programs. President Malpass also expressed the World Bank’s readiness to provide inputs to Vietnam on its Economic Plan for 2022-2025.
President Malpass also raised the importance of balancing climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and establishing a timeline for phasing out Vietnam’s dependence on coal. The World Bank Group will be working on a Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) with Vietnam over the coming months, which is a new Bank diagnostic tool that will help Vietnam integrate climate action and development efforts.
