Vietnam’s potential and prospects for economic development were featured at a seminar in Berlin, on March 17.
At the seminar entitled "Vietnam Today", Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director in Vietnam Ayumi Konishi also spoke of the lessons Vietnam has drawn from the impact of the global economic crisis and the opportunities and challenges foreign investors will encounter when doing business in the country.
Vietnam will enjoy a big advantage in economic development in the coming years, as its population will reach around 100 million by 2020, with 60 percent of it at working age, and this proportion will holding steady for another 30 years, said Konishi.
However, he said, the shortage of hi-quality human resources, shortcomings in traffic infrastructure and ineffective financial intermediary activities as well as difficulties along the road to becoming an middle-income nation will challenge national economic development.
The seminar, jointly held by the German Institute for Economic Development (DIW) and the ADB, was attended by DIW Vice President and Managing Director Alexander Fischer, Resident Director General of the ADB’s European Representative Office Antonio Andrea Monari as well as German experts and scholars and representatives from a number of Germany businesses.
The ADB is one of the country’s largest official development assistance (ODA) capital providers. At the consultative group meeting for Vietnam held at the end of last year, the ADB pledged a $2 billion ODA provision to Vietnam.
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