Press Release No. 13/363

Press Release:Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

September 26, 2013

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement after a meeting with H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in Washington today:

“It was a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Dung and his delegation. We had productive discussions on the progress Vietnam has made in regaining macroeconomic stability over the past year, and on policies to consolidate these achievements and further Vietnam’s commendable track record of reducing poverty. I welcomed the authorities’ efforts to sustain fiscal consolidation and achieve the budget deficit target this year, which along with maintaining the current monetary policy stance, will be instrumental to containing inflation.

“I congratulated Prime Minister Dung on his leadership in developing Vietnam’s reform agenda to begin restructuring the banking system, improving corporate governance at state-owned enterprises and accelerating their equitization, and reforming public investment. Given the external environment, I emphasized the need to move forward quickly, to preserve financial stability and lay the basis for broad and sustainable robust growth. The IMF will continue to collaborate closely with the authorities on policies to consolidate macroeconomic stability and their reform agenda.”