Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has hailed the World Bank (WB) for its assistance for Vietnam in forms of loans, technology and policy consultation, particularly in the fields of hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh (L) and WB Country Director Victoria Kwakwa.

Meeting WB Country Director Victoria Kwakwa in Hanoi on November 20 the Deputy PM asked the WB to continue to support Vietnam, especially the two national target programmes that the National Assembly has just approved on new-style rural building and sustainable poverty reduction.

The deputy PM said 1,500 communes nationwide have been recognised as new-style rural areas, adding that Vietnam targets to have 50 percent of all communes nationwide meeting standards for new-style rural areas by 2020.

However, the work is facing great difficulties in mountainous and ethnic minority areas where only 7.8 percent of the total communes were recognised as new-style rural areas, the Deputy PM said.

Kwakwa informed Deputy PM Ninh about the results of working sessions between the WB and ministries and agencies on the two programmes.

She said with experiences in implementing numerous projects, the WB will propose new initiatives to help Vietnam realise the two programmes, and pledged that the WB will stand with the country to access preferential loans.

VNA