The World Bank is providing a $400 million credit to Vietnam.

On the afternoon of May 14th, the State Bank of Vietnam and the World Bank (WB) signed three credit agreements totaling $400 million to help Vietnam reform its economic management, support the implementation of the Higher Education Reform program, and enhance the school readiness of 5-year-old children.

The World Bank is providing $400 million in support to Vietnam. Photo: VGP/Huy Thắng

Accordingly, the first Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit (EMCC 1) will provide $250 million in concessional financing to support reforms in seven key policy areas, including: the financial sector; fiscal policy; public administration and accountability; state-owned enterprise management; public investment management; business environment efficiency; and business environment equity and transparency.

The second credit of $50 million for the “Higher Education Development Policy Program - Phase 3” will be used to support the implementation of the Government’s higher education reform programs with policies to strengthen governance, finance and quality of higher education.

Specifically, this credit supports efforts to improve the responsiveness of higher education and research capacity; enhance financial transparency, sustainability and efficiency of higher education; and improve the quality of higher education institutions.

The project "Enhancing School Readiness for Preschool Children" aims to improve school readiness for children preparing to enter primary school, especially those at risk of difficulties succeeding in a learning environment. This project, valued at US$100 million, will support selected objectives from Vietnam's national program on "Universal Preschool Education for 5-Year-Old Children 2010-2015" (Decree 239). Specifically, the project supports efforts to expand the two-session-per-day preschool education program, enhance the capacity to ensure quality preschool education, and strengthen the professional development of preschool teachers and principals.

At the signing ceremony, Ms. Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, congratulated the Government on its efforts to stabilize the economy over the past 18 months. She also affirmed that continuing these efforts is essential, as is accelerating the implementation of structural reform programs. The EMCC is designed to foster partnerships with the government to support the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, public investment, and the banking sector.

According to (Chinhphu.vn) - LT