How has the Bank worked with the Government to bring about change in Vietnam?
Our work with the government of Vietnam really focuses on systemic issues. When you fund projects in a given country, it’s very important that you look beyond that specific project and try to achieve systemic change. Take the example of education. Of course, in the beginning, we built schools. And we still build schools because Vietnam needs schools – it needs more schools that it has. But we have also focused on teacher training. We’ve engaged the Government on issues such as developing curricula for disadvantaged children. Should ethnic minorities first be educated in their mother tongue and then in Vietnamese? This is a question many countries in the world grapple with and it’s an area in which we can bring our global knowledge to the table while respecting local conditions. What has worked in other countries? What hasn’t worked? We can help the Vietnamese people make a choice based on international experience. We’ve worked with the Ministry of Education and seen a change of attitud
