“After a decade of high growth, Vietnam has made impressive progress in reducing poverty among its citizens,” Kuroda said at a press conference during the ADB’s 44 th annual meeting in Hanoi on May 3.

Joining the group of middle-income countries in 2008, Vietnam is now consolidating its recovery from the global economic crisis, he said.

The ADB President, however, stressed that Vietnam and other developing countries in Asia still face many development challenges as rising food and oil prices have been stoked by the unexpected upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa, while the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan have created further global unease.

High inflation has impacted on millions of poor people in Asia, including Vietnam , he said, adding that the region’s economic ups have also brought environmental downs.

Vietnam is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and ABD is supporting the Government in developing action plans to deal with these adversities, with urban transportation projects arranged specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting people from private means of transport to a public system, Kuroda said.

In addition, ADB is also helping the Vietnamese government to develop rural infrastructure and enhance the resilience of those living in provincial and agricultural areas.

At the press conference, the ABD President forecast that developing countries in Asia are expected to grow 7.8 percent this year and 7.7 percent in 2012 – somewhat lower than last year’s 9 percent growth rate, but still respectable./.