Viet Nam is a founding member of ADB, which was established in 1966. After the country's unification and the period of suspension, ADB operations in the country were resumed in 1993. ADB has provided Viet Nam with 114 sovereign loans totaling $9.09 billion, one sovereign guarantee of $325 million, 255 technical assistance grant projects amounting to $199.5 million, and 26 other grants totaling $150.1 million. ADB has also approved eight nonsovereign loans, two political risk guarantees, and one B-loan totaling $280 million.

In 2009, the midterm review of ADB's country strategy and program (CSP), 2007-2010 was conducted. The study concluded that while the major thrust of the CSP remains valid, there is a need to improve implementation of ongoing assistance, and to incorporate emerging issues facing Viet Nam in ADB's operations, particularly mitigating the adverse impact of the global economic crisis in 2008 and 2009.

As Viet Nam is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, ADB is preparing to support implementation of the government's national program jointly with other development partners, and assistance relating to climate change will be mainstreamed.

With Viet Nam's progression to a middle-income economy, the country is preparing the new SEDP, 2011-2015, and, in parallel, ADB is preparing the new country partnership strategy (CPS) for the same period. Recognizing the country's rapid transformation, efforts are being made to enable ADB to support the country to achieve rapid and sustainable socioeconomic development, addressing the "middle-income country traps."

With the recognition that the immediate policy priority of the government is to restore macroeconomic stability, ADB is actively involved in policy dialogue on macroeconomic management, while supporting the government's efforts to improve corporate governance and efficiencies of state-owned enterprises. To facilitate faster development of infrastructure ADB is assisting the government to develop a pilot scheme to promote public-private partnerships. Viet Nam needs to place greater emphasis on improving the efficiency of its economy in order for it to be an integral part of the regional and global value chain, and these considerations are to form the basis of the next CPS, 2011-2015 for Viet Nam, which will be fully aligned with the government's new SEDP for the same period, as well as with ADB's long-term strategic framework, Strategy 2020.

With regard to resources, Viet Nam is one of the largest ADF recipients, with an indicative ADF allocation of $736 million for 2011-2012. OCR is also actively being used for projects with higher rates of return, such as infrastructure, which has an allocation of about $1 billion in 2011. The demand for OCR, however, is greater still, and is expected to remain high in the medium term. ADB will intensify efforts toward larger resource mobilization, including cofinancing and the use of guarantees or other instruments.