Donors have changed their view of Vietnam.

Accordingly, the way CG is organized has changed and this is no longer the place to mobilize ODA.

Since 2013, the CG Conference has been transformed into the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (VDPF). This annual conference is the final conference under the framework, following the model of 20 years ago to mobilize ODA.

This is a qualitative change after 20 years of CG development. This change is also a step of recognition by the international community for the socio-economic achievements, poverty reduction... that Vietnam has achieved. The fact that Vietnam no longer enjoys preferential capital sources and increases commercial capital sources also means that we have to stand on our own feet more than before.

According to Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, the capital sources committed to support today are mainly for the transition period from receiving preferential capital to commercial capital.

Representing the donors, Ms. Victoria Kwawa - Country Director of the World Bank in Vietnam said that in previous CGs, the number of funding commitments has always been the top concern. However, summarizing the 20-year progress of the CG, it shows that it is time to change the way the CG is organized. This is no longer a place to mobilize funding and announce funding numbers. The important thing for the CG in the coming years is to have a dialogue on policies and the challenges that Vietnam is facing to find ways to overcome them.

Right after the last CG period ended, answering the press, Minister Bui Quang Vinh said that the change in content and form of CG is not necessarily because Vietnam has become a middle-income country. This is only related to the reduction of preferential loans and the increase in the proportion of commercial capital. Donor countries have clear principles, and recipient countries that have overcome difficulties must reserve that preferential capital for other countries. Our negotiation to increase ODA is for this transition period.

“For a long time, we considered CG as the place to announce a lot of aid money. This announcement is very important, but donors think this is unnecessary. Because discussing projects and funding capital must last a whole year. CG will spend more time on dialogue on important issues, big issues such as monetary policy, so it is necessary to focus intelligence on the subject… Talking about transformation, but it is just not emphasizing ODA anymore” – Mr. Vinh reiterated.

At the CG organization method innovation session, Mr. Hoang Viet Khang - Director of the Foreign Economic Affairs Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment) said that VDPF will be a high-level mechanism that plays the role of a major platform for development policy dialogue between the Government and all development partners. Once a year, the Government and development partners, international non-governmental organizations, domestic research institutes, domestic professional social organizations, the private sector (if necessary) and other development actors will meet and dialogue openly, in a constructive spirit for the development and improvement of the lives of the Vietnamese people. Expected to be held at the end of the year like the final CG Conferences, VDPF will be held in Hanoi and other localities.

VDPF will focus on discussion and dialogue on each issue by topic and sector, policy options for Vietnam or challenges that Vietnam is facing.

In fact, at this very session, CG made some innovations. It was the first time that civil society organizations participated in the conference.

Returning to Vietnam's economy, entering 2013, the third year and also the pivotal year of implementing the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015, Vietnam continues to focus on strengthening macroeconomic stability, reducing inflation, achieving higher growth than in 2012, promoting the implementation of 3 strategic breakthroughs associated with economic restructuring, transforming the growth model, creating a more solid development foundation for the following years.

To achieve the above goal, according to Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, the Government will harmoniously combine monetary and fiscal policies to control inflation, stabilize the macro-economy, and ensure rapid and sustainable development in the long term.

Focus on managing and removing difficulties for production and business, reducing inventory, promoting consumption to rapidly increase aggregate demand for the economy; have specific solutions to remove difficulties for the real estate market.

Urgently resolve bad debts to open up credit to businesses, minimizing risks that cause instability in the banking system and financial market. Focus on handling outstanding debts in basic construction from state budget capital. Strive to reduce bad debts to 3-4% by the end of 2015.

Regarding attracting investment capital, according to Minister Bui Quang Vinh, Vietnam will implement synchronous solutions to mobilize all resources for socio-economic development. Promote the attraction and disbursement of foreign investment capital, ODA capital, and perfect mechanisms to attract private investment such as PPP, BOT, BT, etc.

Regarding development cooperation, the Government strives to promote the effectiveness and disbursement of ODA capital commensurate with the importance of this capital source for the country's development. The disbursement results in 2012 are the initial results of these efforts.

2013 is forecast to be a difficult year not only for Vietnam but also for donor countries. The Vietnamese Government understands that donors will also have difficulty in considering the allocation of their funding within an increasingly tight budget framework.

However, “Vietnam hopes that the international donor community will continue to pay attention to supporting Vietnam because this will still be an important source of capital for poverty reduction and development investment. We are committed to continuing to coordinate and cooperate closely with donors to improve project implementation and increase the efficiency of ODA capital use, and improve dialogue methods to make them more effective” – Minister Bui Quang Vinh said to the donors./.

According to (vov.vn) - LT