The event is an initial step in the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese Government and the WEF on the issue “Future of long-term investment, infrastructure and development,” which is one of the seven important elements of the bilateral cooperation deal on building a self-reliant Vietnamese economy.
The workshop focused on discussing the future orientations for Vietnam-WEF cooperation; assessing the standards of the national public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure programme aiming to explore the opportunities and challenges concerning investment in infrastructure development in Vietnam; and sharing experiences in the implementation of Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP), aiming to promote sustainable infrastructure development through blended finance.
In his speech, MPI Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Hieu stated that over the past few years, the Vietnamese Government has made huge efforts to attract businesses, both at home and abroad, to invest in infrastructure development, particularly in the form of PPP; however, the enforcement of policies in searching for and implementing PPP projects in Vietnam still faces a lot of difficulties and challenges, leading to far poorer results than expected.
He expressed his wish to receive useful recommendations and consultations through the workshop, so that Vietnam can continue to supplement and finalise its legal framework with the aim of improving the infrastructure investment environment.
Addressing the event, Alex Wong, Head of Global Challenge Partnerships and member of the WEF’s Executive Committee, said that according to the Asian Development Bank, Vietnam will be in need of an investment capital flow worth hundreds of billions of US dollars from now until 2030.
As it is difficult to depend on public resources amid Vietnam’s efforts to become a middle income country, two thirds of this sum of money will have to be mobilised from private sources, and the implementation of PPP will bring about huge benefits, he noted.
Wong voiced his hopes for the creation of a community of leaders, businesses, and scholars for initiative sharing, as well as the establishment of a Vietnam infrastructure working group (IWG).
First of all, private companies and scholars need to frankly discuss the challenges hindering the PPP in Vietnam, he said, adding that regional and international experience would help to build an action programme to address infrastructure-related issues in the country.
