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.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (10 December 2014)– In an effort to highlight the contribution of youth to the Greater Mekong Subregion, the Asian Development Bank is assisting 36 national youth representatives from Mekong countries on a journey of learning, to culminate in a youth message to the 5th GMS Summit to be held in Bangkok, Thailand next week.
HA NOI, VIET NAM (4 December 2014) – The Asian Development Bank and Government of Australia are providing combined assistance of $10.5 million to promote private sector development in Greater Mekong Subregion countries ahead of the inception of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
HA NOI, VIET NAM (25 November 2014) – The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Viet Nam today signed a $50 million loan agreement to upgrade Viet Nam’s tourism infrastructure, boost tourist spending, and create more jobs in the industry for poor and ethnic minority communities.
The Thirteenth Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Working Group on Human Resource Development (WGHRD-13) was held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 29-30 October 2014 with the theme “Strengthening Human Resource Development Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion.”
A long stretch of road linking several provinces of Myanmar, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam is home to many impoverished farmers. But things are slowly changing. Thanks to an improved road system, farmers now have an opportunity to distribute their agricultural products over long distances, reaching large, rich markets across the region. Farmers are also adding value to agricultural
This issue of the Journal of Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Development Studies features five articles of subregional importance spanning the subjects of free trade areas, tourism, and human trafficking.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (3 October 2014) – The Asian Development Bank and Government of Japan are providing technical assistance to help Greater Mekong Subregion member countries tackle weaknesses in sanitary and phytosanitary procedures, which are undermining cross border trade flows.
HA NOI, VIET NAM (8 August 2014) – The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) needs to ensure that economic corridors yield benefits in terms of trade, investment, and jobs, participants at the 6th GMS Economic Corridors Forum (ECF) heard today.
This report presents the methodology and lessons learned from a climate change adaptation study conducted under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Core Environment Program.
The Forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) of Thailand and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).