The World Bank (WB) has so far invested over $1 billion in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, and it is planning to double the figure in the next two-three years, WB Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said. Mr. Dione made the statement in an interview with the ministry-run newspaper Tai Nguyen & Moi Truong (Natural Resources and Environment), amid the Vietnamese government’s plan to hold a conference to review two-year implementation of the government’s Resolution 120/NQ-CP on sustainable development of the Mekong Delta in response to climate change. He noted that the WB has invested in multiple sectors in the region, including urban infrastructure, irrigation, agriculture, and natural disasters prevention and fighting. In the next several years, the WB will continue its assistance in fields such as maritime logistics, greenhouse reduction, and water security, Mr. Dione added. The WB executive acknowledged the Vietnamese government’s efforts in developing the Mekong Delta, especially the issuance of Resolution 120 in 2017. The resolution has helped boost activities to mitigate the region’s climate change vulnerability. He pinpointed four issues that need improvements to develop the delta sustainably, which are (i) information/data system, (ii) coordination mechanism, (iii) investment attraction, and (iv) detailed activities to continue carry out Resolution 120. As scheduled, the Vietnamese government will organize a conference on June 18 to review the implementation of Resolution 120, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. (Bao Tai Nguyen Moi Truong, baotainguyenmoitruong)
