(VCN) Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan had a meeting with the delegation of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on June 14. The delegation was led by Mrs. Reehana Rifat Raza, the new Regional Director of the Asia-Pacific Division.

At the meeting, welcoming Mrs. Reehana Rifat Raza to accept her new assignment as IFAD's Regional Director for Asia - Pacific in Vietnam, Deputy Minister Ta Anh Tuan wished and suggested Mrs. Reehana Rifat Raza continue supporting Vietnam in mobilizing new loans and supporting projects to accomplish goals.

The Ministry of Finance highly appreciated IFAD's role in supporting Vietnam over the past 29 years. The Deputy Minister said that IFAD's borrowed capital and aid have added valuable resources for Vietnam in economic and social development, especially in the fields of agriculture and rural development.

Accordingly, IFAD's projects have proven their effectiveness when IFAD evaluated Vietnam as one of the successful case studies on poverty reduction, agricultural and rural development.

In the period when Vietnam completely switched to borrowing without preferential loan conditions, to help Vietnam to take advantage of IFAD’s borrowed capital and use loans most effectively, Deputy Minister Ta Anh Tuan wished that the two sides must jointly identify new and more appropriate cooperation directions, reducing the loan approval procedures from both parties.

The Ministry of Finance expected IFAD to cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to study reasonable loan conditions to reduce borrowing costs and marginal interest rates. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance hoped that IFAD would continue to support Vietnam in finding aid sources and co-financing IFAD's projects for the fields with low capital recovery such as agriculture, rural development, and response to climate change in vulnerable areas.

Speaking at the meeting, Mrs. Reehana Rifat Raza thanked Deputy Minister Ta Anh Tuan and officials of the Ministry of Finance for taking the time to meet and clarify the cooperation proposals, programs and projects between the two sides.

At the same time, she hoped that the contents that are concerned by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam would be openly discussed and clarified by the two sides.