Vietnam celebrates 20 years of relationship with ODA donors World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa (L) talks with Swedish Ambassador Camilla Mellander during the ceremony in Hanoi October 17, 2013. Tuoi Tre Vietnam has achieved many accomplishments and drawn precious experience during its 20 years of cooperative development with the ODA (official development assistance) donors. A ceremony was held Thursday to mark the anniversary . The ceremony, held by the Vietnamese government, reviewed how the country has managed and used its ODA since 1993, when the first ODA inflow reached the country, then one of the poorest nations in the world. Speaking at the event, Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, highlighted the achievements Vietnam has had with the ODA by referencing several impressive statistics. In 1993, the per capita income of Vietnam was fewer than US$100, while other human development indices like education and healthcare were also at modest levels, Kwakwa said. But 20 years later, some 30 million people have escaped from poverty, while the per capita income has risen to $1,700, she said. Today, Kwakwa added, Vietnam has some indices that are higher than other countries with similar or higher per capita income. For instance, the literacy rate of Vietnam is higher than those of Bolivia and Sri Lanka, while the number of people with access to clean water is greater than that of the Philippines and Indonesia. Kwakwa said Vietnam’s success is the result of the visionary leadership and strong determination of the government, plus a great effort to escape from hardship made by its people. The World Bank official also said donors have pledged a total of $52 billion worth of ODA for Vietnam, 66 percent of which is intended for the infrastructure development sector, while the remainders will be disbursed for the healthcare, environment, and agriculture. Other donors and partners also spoke highly of Vietnam’s use and management of the ODA. Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada said Japan is willing to assist Vietnam to overcome the economic slowdown and restructure the economy with the ODA. Japan is Vietnam’s largest bilateral donor. In the first six months of this year, donors pledged $3.834 billion worth of ODA for Vietnam, up by 20 percent from the same period last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The country is expected to sign ODA contracts worth $2.4 billion in the second half of the year. This means the total ODA pledged for Vietnam this year will be a record $7 billion, up by 19.3 percent from last year. The total ODA pledged in 20 years is some $78.195 billion, the ministry said. In addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed his thanks to the governments of the donor countries for their assistance and support of Vietnam in the last two decades. Dung asserted that the ODA has enabled Vietnam to materialize many of its development plans and strategies, and promised to continue to effectively manage this precious source of capital. TUOITRENEWS