Ha Noi (VNA) – The Consultative Group Meeting closed in Ha Noi on Thursday, with international donors committing 3.441 billion USD in official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam next year.

The figure represented an increase of over 600 million USD from last year’s level.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said this was good news for the Vietnamese Government and people. However, the success was not only the figure but also the donor community’s strong support for Viet Nam’s policies reflected in the meeting's discussions. This was a great encouragement for the Government to continue its "doi moi" (renovation) policy, he stressed.

According to the Deputy PM, issues discussed at the meeting, including the efficiency of economic development, the anti-corruption fight and poverty reduction, were also those raised in the National Assembly hearings. The coincidence was the manifestation of a wish for long-term co-ordination between the Government and the international community, he said.

After two days' work, the Deputy PM Khoan, Planning and Investment Minister Vo Hong Phuc, and  Country Director of the World Bank in Viet Nam Klaus Rohland affirmed that the Vietnamese Government and the community of donors reached a consensus in their assessment of Viet Nam’s socio-economic achievements and challenges, as well as on plans in the coming years and measures to implement these plans.

The two sides, in a frank and objective manner, looked at matters Viet Nam should improve in the future, such as the quality of growth and further reform of economics, the business environment, the legal system and some social issues.

On Viet Nam’s foreign debt, which had reached over 13 billion USD by the end of last year, Shogo Ishii, a representative from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the figure was not high for a developing country. He affirmed that the IMF is not worried about Viet Nam's capacity to pay debts.

On this matter, Klaus Rohland said that an amount of foreign debt less than 10 percent of exports is acceptable, as these foreign loans are low interest and long duration, and Viet Nam is fully able to pay them back.