The World Bank plays an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s socio-economic development, especially in poverty reduction, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the banks’ leaders in Washington on September 26 (local time). The Vietnamese PM, who is in the US to attend the High-level Meetings of the 68 th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, held meetings with WB President Jim Yong Kim and the bank’s managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati to discuss measures to further promote relations between Vietnam and the financial institution in the time ahead. The Prime Minister thanked the WB executive committee for the decision to include Vietnam in the list of countries that will continue to receive preferential loans in the next three years. He also praised WB’s efforts in mobilising capital for the International Development Association (IDA), and asked the WB to continue providing IDA loans for countries just rising above poverty, including Vietnam, to help them achieve sustainable development. PM Dung affirmed that Vietnam is determined to restructure its economy, and is working on new mechanisms facilitating the private sector’s involvement in investment projects. The Vietnamese Government remains steadfast in its targets of strengthening macroeconomic stability, curbing inflation and pushing for three strategic breakthroughs, which are market institution completion, workforce training and comprehensive infrastructure development, the PM said. He asked the community of donors and the WB Group in particular to continue providing Vietnam with financial assistance and policy consultancy in order to help the country achieve the mentioned breakthroughs. PM Dung also stressed that the Vietnamese government is taking a range of measures to accelerate the implementation and capital disbursement of programmes and projects funded by the WB. The WB President expressed his delight at the cooperation between WB and Vietnam in the recent time, affirming that the bank will continue to support Vietnam ’s development process. He said the WB will continue implementing its commitments to support Vietnam in accessing IDA capital in the 2014-2017 period as well as provide Vietnam with financial and technical assistance as well as policy consultation. The WB leader recommended that Vietnam continue with efforts to stabilize macro economy, put inflation under control and strongly restructure the banking system, while accelerate the disbursement of WB’s loans. In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in the US, the WB managing director, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, highlighted Vietnam’s success in curbing inflation and stabilizing the macroeconomy, particularly the foreign exchange rate, adding that growth will depend greatly on economic restructuring, including that of the commercial bank system. She affirmed the WB stands ready to continue provide financial support to Vietnam as well as help the country enhance its institutional capacity. The WB has provided Vietnam with 8 billion USD through IDA and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which contributes positively to Vietnam’s economic development and poverty reduction. Indrawati stated that the support will continue in the coming time.VNA