Meeting between Mr Le Minh Hung, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (left side) and Ms. Sandie Okoro, Senior Vice President and World Bank Group General Counsel, in Hanoi on September 26th, 2017.
Ms. Okoro held technical meetings with the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministers of Finance, and Justice. The discussions showcased the strong partnership between Vietnam and the World Bank and explored opportunities for continued Bank support. Issues discussed included areas where the Bank has been providing technical advice, the fiscal constraints faced by Vietnam, and the importance of capacity building for institutional strengthening.
“Vietnam has made significant achievements in poverty reduction and economic growth, and it needs to tell its development story out loud. I would like to reaffirm the longstanding partnership between Vietnam and the World Bank Group”, said Ms Sandie Okoro.
Ms. Okoro had a fruitful discussion with women representatives of the private sector where she learnt how Vietnamese women are drivers of growth and contribute to all aspects of Vietnamese economy and other areas, such as climate change. She also learnt about the constraints facing Vietnamese women in the public and private sector.
During her meeting and inspirational talks with hundreds of students of Hanoi University of Law, Ms. Okoro shared her own life experience starting as a law student like them and stressed the importance of being humble, resilient, kind and helpful to all, especially embedding integrity in anything they do.
As part of her visit to the Medium Cities Development Project financed by the World Bank in Phu Ly city on September 28th, Ms. Okoro met with provincial leaders and officials as well as beneficiaries including students and teachers from kindergarten and schools financed by the project. She also saw firsthand how project helps to improve basic infrastructure and services including water supply and environmental sanitation and rehabilitation of urban roads and bridges.
The Bank provides analytical and technical support in a wide range of development areas in Vietnam and is currently financing 51 IDA and IBRD projects, totaling USD10.5 billion.
Areas of strategic focus include enabling inclusive growth and private sector participation, ensuring environmental sustainability and resilience, and investing in people and knowledge./.