(VOVworld)- A workshop on Vietnam’s growth quality and the role of the private sector opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.

Sebastian Eckardt, a Senior Economist from the World Bank in Vietnam, said Vietnam’s GDP per capita increased 5.5% from 1990 to 2014, poverty reduced sharply, and inequality stood at reduced level. Vietnam aims to achieve a GDP growth rate of 6.5% from 2015 to 2020, and continue to reduce poverty. But the WB Senior Economist warned that Vietnam faces numerous challenges including production-based economic growth, poverty gaps, and environmental impacts caused by rapid growth. Mr. Eckardt said that to achieve a more sustainable growth, the Vietnamese government should focus on creating equal growth, generating jobs, ensuring equal access to and supply of services, and sustainably manage the environment and natural resources. He urged Vietnam to upgrade its infrastructure, improve market mechanisms and economic management, and strengthen its capacity to cope with climate change while modernizing agriculture.