Viet Nam
Quick Facts
| Population | 96 million (2017) |
| GDP at PPP (current international dollars) | 647 billion (2017) |
| GDP per capita at PPP (current international dollars) | 6,776 (2017) |
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Viet Nam has worked with its GMS partners to increase the productivity of its agriculture sector. The country has prioritized critical reforms that have resulted in steady growth in agricultural output, making Viet Nam the second largest exporter of rice in the world. As in other GMS countries, rural transport and market access have also improved agricultural and rural livelihoods.
Viet Nam seeks to develop its energy resources with better transparency, competition and economic efficiency in order to attract private investment, which will complement public sector investments, and ensure energy supply security for its rapidly growing domestic demand. Viet Nam has worked with its GMS neighbors to benefit from power trading arrangements being developed in the subregion, and on information sharing regarding the exploration, production, and transmission of energy resources. Viet Nam is also expanding electricity access to rural and remote areas, and boosting the share of renewable energy to total energy supply.
Similar to other fast-growing GMS economies, Viet Nam has had to respond to growing pressures on its environment and natural resources. The Government has enacted legislation and launched programs to mitigate the environmental impacts of urban expansion. Viet Nam, in coordination with its GMS partners, has invested in tree planting programs that are showing results in terms slowing the loss of forest cover.
With a large rural and young population that is in need of skills development and training, Viet Nam is seeking to train 27.5 million workers – including 10 million rural workers – by 2020. In coordination with its GMS partners, Viet Nam is focusing efforts on poverty reduction and gender mainstreaming in order to help vulnerable workers benefit from national training programs. As part of its national human resources development work, the country is also strengthening its emphasis on protecting migrant workers, both domestically and across borders.
Viet Nam is sharing knowledge with its GMS partners to develop its fixed and mobile telecommunications systems, as well as Internet service. To promote competition and universal access, the country is promoting more transparent telecommunications licensing procedures and fees (in line with its subregional neighbors), and efficient government regulations. Viet Nam takes part in GMS training programs designed to increase the expertise of officials across the subregion.
Making trade and investment easier between GMS countries is a key priority for Viet Nam. The country has worked with its subregional partners to harmonize and simplify trade and investment procedures.
Viet Nam is a vital link in the emerging subregional transport system of the GMS. It is home to key sections of major GMS corridors, such as the Ho Chi Minh City-Phnom Penh Highway, the East-West Transport Corridor, the Kunming-Haiphong Transport Corridor, and the Southern Coastal Corridor. The country has also embarked on the construction of major expressways to enhance its overall transport efficiency. Viet Nam also hosts important maritime links via its ports. Viet Nam’s fast-growing economy has been a strong contributor to the development of GMS economic corridors that have benefited its own people, and the citizens of neighboring countries.
While tightened control by Viet Nam and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in response to the COVID-19 epidemic may have slowed down customs procedures and trade, the two countries continue to work on easing import/export at the border through cooperation and discussions.
Viet Nam is a hazard-prone country. Its 3,260-kilometer coastline is regularly exposed to typhoons, floods, drought, coastal erosion, and landslides. This poses significant threats to roads, embankments, and water supply infrastructure. An estimated 97% of average annual economic losses from natural hazards is caused by flooding.
This is the joint statement issued at the 23rd GMS Ministerial Conference held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 18 November 2019.
Agriculture accounts for more than half the workforce in most ADB developing member countries. In the Greater Mekong Subregion, agriculture forms the backbone of its countries’ economies, directly supporting the livelihoods of nearly 200 million people with over 60% of the subregion’s 340 million inhabitants engaged in small-scale agriculture.
A pilot project has developed night markets in selected border towns in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to take advantage of the economic opportunities opened by infrastructure projects in the area.
A pilot project in the Greater Mekong Subregion explored the use of satellite technology to improve the collection of paddy rice statistics to support better policymaking.
HA NOI, VIET NAM (27 November 2018) — The Asian Development Bank has approved over $100 million in financing to help the Government of Viet Nam install eight modernized irrigation systems in five drought-affected provinces, which will improve agricultural productivity, especially among farmers growing high-value crops such as coffee, peppers, grapes, dragon fruits, and mangoes.
This publication highlights how the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program has contributed to sustainable development over the last decade.
An innovative data fusion technique, which combines two freely available satellite data sources, is used to map paddy area and estimate rice yield in Thai Binh province, Viet Nam.
Singapore-based agribusiness group Olam International has secured $163 million in financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), including $80 million in loans for its coffee subsidiary in Viet Nam.