Hanoi (VNA) – The World Bank (WB) Group and theAustralian Government have agreed to extend their strategic partnership inVietnam with a commitment of a further 5 million AUD to support Vietnam’seconomic recovery and protect the most vulnerable from the negative impacts ofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds, provided by the Australian Government and administered by the World Bank Group, areadditional financing to the ongoing Australia-World Bank Group StrategicPartnership – Phase 2 (ABP2) that focuses on supporting Vietnam’s developmentagenda through knowledge sharing and advising policy-making.

“The additional funding will help address emergingchallenges and critical needs of Vietnam post COVID-19,” said Ousmane Dione,the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam.

“By providing support in key areas such as private sectordevelopment, trade integration, and innovation, the program aims to help thecountry’s economy gain back its full potential in the fastest and mostsustainable way,” he said.

“Vietnam should be very proud of how it has tackledCOVID-19,” said Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, adding that “the next challenge for Vietnam, as for Australia, willbe to replicate the successes of the health response in the economic response.”

The Australia-World Bank Group Strategic Partnership willcontinue providing world class economic advice and analysis for Vietnam’sleaders and policy makers to accelerate economic recovery, with an increasinglystrong focus on gender equality and social protection, she added.

To address the potential loss of human capital fromCOVID-19, the activities to be funded will protect and support vulnerablegroups, including by strengthening social safety nets with more efficient andeffective delivery of social security payments; narrowing human capital gaps,particularly for ethnic minorities, with a well-designed ethnic minoritynational targeted program; and improving gender equality in legal frameworks.

The funds will also be directed towards economic recoveryactivities, including accelerating the execution of the investment programme while deepening trade integration, supporting theprivate sector strengthening resilience against future shocks throughstructural reforms, and taking advantage of the digital agenda by reducingtransactions costs for the government, people, and businesses.

The ongoing ABP2 programme, signed in April 2017, aims to support Vietnam’s key national reforms,which are intended to gradually benefit millions of Vietnamese people and helpthe Southeast Asian country reach its ambition of becoming a high-incomeeconomy by 2045./.