The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to maintaining its credit assistance of around US$1 billion per annum to support Vietnam over the next five years, the Manila-based institution announced on Tuesday.

ADB has approved the Vietnam Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2016-20, a new partnership for the Southeast Asian country to fund its recently launched Socio-Economic Development Plan 2016–20.

Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that the annual grant will be around $1 billion, and will be focused on several fields.

In the education sector, for instance, secondary and high school education will be prioritized, while insurance and public health service are the major objectives in the field of healthcare.  

“Sharing our knowledge will also play a key role in the new CPS, with a particular focus on strengthening the business enabling environment, promoting fiscal transparency and public accountability, and fostering integrated and green urban infrastructure,” he added.

ADB will help leverage private sector investment through public–private partnerships, improve efficiency and service delivery to citizens and gain access to new expertise and technology.

It will also support sustainable natural resource use as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation measures to respond to the heightened risks facing the country.

Having reached lower-middle income status in 2010, Vietnam has made rapid progress against poverty reduction and in lifting the quality of health and education, according to ADB.

But the Southeast Asian country is starting to face new and more complex challenges like environmental damage, high exposure to climate change, rapid growth in the working age population, and poverty, just to name a few.

“To help the government address these challenges, the ADB will support investments to achieve three key outcomes,” the ADB country director for Vietnam said.

“These will be to promote job creation and competitiveness, to increase the inclusiveness of infrastructure and service delivery, and to improve environmental sustainability and climate change responses.”

ADB has sponsored Vietnam with $5.3 billion in support and aid grants of $240 million since 2011. The organization will continue to support Vietnam with loans of preferential interest rates lower than that of the commercial loans until 2018.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members, 48 of which are from the Asia and the Pacific regions. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including co-financing of $10.7 billion.