OREANDA-NEWS. June 19, 2015. Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement in Hanoi at the conclusion of his visit to Vietnam:

“I wish to thank the Government of Vietnam and the officials I met during my visit for their hospitality and productive discussions. In particular, I wish to thank President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Vice President of the National Assembly Mme. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Binh and Vice Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung for their warm welcome and very productive exchange of views.

“In my meetings, I emphasized that the IMF is a long-term and committed partner for Vietnam. We see our partnership growing stronger as we work together to foster macroeconomic stability and reforms to support robust, sustainable and equitable growth in Vietnam’s economy over the medium term.

“I commended Vietnam for its macroeconomic stabilization gains since early 2011 and its achievements over the past two and half decades, including a remarkable economic transformation, high growth rates, integration into the global economy, higher living standards, lower poverty, and for reaching almost all of the Millennium Development Goals.

“Our discussions focused on how to broaden and sustain these achievements through continued macroeconomic and financial stability which focuses on the quality—rather than the quantity—of growth, acceleration of structural reforms and further regional and global integration.

“While economic prospects for Vietnam remain favorable, I encouraged the authorities to improve the country’s fiscal and external positions. A growth friendly fiscal consolidation would reduce the public debt to GDP ratio, while supportive and appropriately flexible macroeconomic policies would help cushion external shocks and allow further accumulation of international reserves. Accelerating reforms to the banking and state-owned enterprise sectors will help achieve greater economic efficiency.

“Vietnam’s economy has shown much resilience in the past and has great potential in the years ahead. The IMF will continue to work closely with the authorities to provide high-quality policy advice to enhance stability and growth.

“Once again, I would like to thank the authorities and the people of Vietnam for their hospitality and look forward to continuing our close cooperation.”