Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc has proposed the World Bank (WB) to continue its non-refundable aidfor Vietnam in institutional reform, legal framework improvement and economicrestructuring.

Receiving WB Vice President for East Asia and PacificVictoria Kwakwa in Hanoi on September 11, PM Phuc applauded the WB official’sattendance at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) 2018, saying thatthis will make an important contribution to the success of the event.

Vietnam always treasures the WB’s support for the country, notonly its long-term loans but also policy consultancy to help the Vietnamese Governmentimprove macroeconomic management, he stressed.

The PM added that the Government of Vietnam backs the WB’s plan to increasecapital to provide long-term financial resources for its members.

While expressing his gratitude to the WB and Kwakwa personally for callingassistance for Vietnam, PM Phuc urged the WB to continue its assistance to Vietnamin energy and transport development, and help Vietnam build a roadmap forincreasing the private sector’s investment in these areas, thus reducing the leadershiprole of the Government.

The Vietnamese leader suggested the WB to provide consultancy andcoordinate with other donors such as the Asian Development Bank (ABD), the AsiaInfrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to co-finance Vietnam in the context thatthe Southeast Asian nation has a strong demand for infrastructure developmentin the coming time.

He thanked the WB for supporting the Vietnamese Government and its Office in buildinge-Government, adding that on the occasion of the upcoming debut of thee-Government Committee, the WB in Vietnam and the Government Office will sign acooperation framework.

The PM noted with pleasure that more and more foreign and multinational businesses,including many leading enterprises in the world, have chosen Vietnam as adestination for their investment and business activities.

For her part, Kwakwa congratulated Vietnam on its recent socio-economic achievements, and said that Vietnam’smacro indicators have achieved positive results, such as growth, export,foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction and foreign exchange reserves.  

Notably, Vietnam'sexternal position in the region and the world has been improved, she said.

While discussing the outlook for Vietnam’s economic growth this year, Kwakwa saidthat Vietnam's economy has good prospects thanks to positive indicators relatedto its exports and FDI attraction.

Vietnam islikely to reach a growth rate of 6.8 percent in 2018, she said, expressing herbelief that Vietnam’s economic development will be stronger in the time tocome.

Kwakwarecommended the Vietnamese Government to roll out clear policies to help improveconfidence of investors and promote stability of the country’s macro-economy.

She also congratulated Vietnam on the increasing confidence of business communitiesin the world in its potential, especially its stable macro-economy and social-economicdevelopment and opportunities for development in all fields.

If Vietnam continues to well manage its macro economy and curb inflation, itwill attract more and more enterprises and investors, she said, suggesting thatVietnam needs to continue removing points that are not in line withinternational practices in the field of taxation.

PM Phuc appreciated Kwakwa's recommendations as a financial expert and policymaker,saying that she is very knowledgeable about Vietnam and always gives thecountry and people special sentiments.

He expressed his hope that Kwakwa will continue to supporting Vietnam'sdevelopment and integration in the years to come.-VNA