At the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum in Hanoi on Thursday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on foreign donors to offer more assistance to Vietnam. The country needs to have more policymaking suggestions and support from international donors so that it can fulfill national targets in the time to come, the PM told the forum. Themed “Establishing a New Partnership: Looking Towards Competitiveness, Comprehensive and Sustainable Growth”, this year’s event attracted around 300 delegates from 20 ministries, agencies and localities as well as international and non-Governmental organizations. Co-chaired by Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and World Bank Country Director in Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa, the forum will focus its discussions on poverty reduction in ethnic community, private sector’s involvement in clean water supplies and hygiene, better efficiency in environmental management system, and competitiveness via skill improvement and vocational training.

PM Dung informed the forum that the recent session of Vietnam’s National Assembly has adopted the amended Constitution and a series of key laws, laying foundation for more legal regulations that help improve the business and investment environment in Vietnam. In external relations, Vietnam is negotiating on six free trade agreements with top global and economies worldwide that are expected to be completed in 2014-2015, he said.

PM Dung also said Vietnam and foreign donors have successfully held the annual Consultative Group of Donors (CG) meetings over the past 20 years.

From an underdeveloped country in the 1990s, Vietnam has become a middle-income nation and basically achieved several millennium development goals and recorded some successes in poverty reduction, Dung said. It is a joint achievement of Vietnam and international donors thanks to perseverance and effective bilateral cooperation over the past two decades.