(VOV) - Donor representatives dicsussed poverty reduction and natural disaster mitigation in central Vietnam during the mid-year Consultative Group (CG) meeting which closed in Quang Tri province on Wednesday.

Addressing the opening session, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai affirmed that maintaining macro-economic stability remains a high priority to the Government in the context of the economic slowdown. The negative impact of controlling inflation, especially on enterprises and employment, need to be addressed, and solutions have been introduced to deal with these difficulties.

While the government has focused on stabilizing the economy, it has kept the expenditures targeted towards the poor and will continue to do so, said Hai. Donors hailed the government’s efforts in successfully stabilizing the macro-economy, but some warned Vietnam should not loosen its monetary policy too swiftly as this will bring in unwanted results. 

Donors and Government officials agreed that the focus should be now on speeding up the restructuring of the banking sector, state owned enterprises and public investment.  They shared the view was a general sense that improving the quality, efficiency and sustainability of public investment is key to sharpening Vietnam’s competitiveness and make its economy more productive. 

The meeting heard reports from the Central Coast Provinces on the current situation and policy issues at the national and provincial levels for Natural Disaster Risk Management.

AusAid and Oxfam representatives provided lessons and experience on Natural Disaster Risk Management approaches, from donor and NGO-supported projects and programs in the central coastal region.

They said it is necessary to encourage local participation and empowerment, especially of the private sector, share experience across provinces, coordinate all stakeholders, and integrate risk assessment into infrastructure investment planning for disaster resilience. 

In closing the conference, Victoria Kwakwa, Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam and Co-Chair of the CG affirmed the donor community’s determination to support Vietnam’s development.