VietNamNet Bridge – On July 17, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim started his official visit to Vietnam to strengthen the relationships between the two sides.
In the first working day in Vietnam, Mr. Jim Yong Kim met Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to discuss Vietnam’s achievements in poverty reduction, development objectives and signed some documents.
The World Bank recently forecast that Vietnam’s GDP growth in 2014 will be at 5.4 percent thanks to the support of the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the sharp increase of exports of manufactured goods.
However, Vietnam still faces challenges in both immediate and long-term. Domestic demand remains weak due to the confidence of the private sector is not strong enough, the progress of reform is slow and the bad debt has not been fully resolved. These factors will influence the growth of Vietnam.
The World Bank also expressed concern about inequality in Vietnam, especially in urban populations. “Common concern about inequality will tend to increase over time as more and more people in Vietnam move to the city and they can witness conspicuous difference in social welfare”, WB experts said.
Mr. Jim Yong Kim was born in 1959 in South Korea. His family settled in America when he was five years old. He holds a medical Ph.D. and became the 12th President of the World Bank from 1/7/2012.
This is his first visit to Vietnam as the head of the World Bank. Earlier, he visited China on July 7-9 to discuss the reforms in the health sector.
Tran Cham
Đăng ký: VietNam News