New Country Partnership Strategy for Vietnam for 2011 - 2016

www.worldbank.org/vn/cps

The World Bank in Vietnam has entered the final stage of its current Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) outlining its engagement in Vietnam and has recently launched the development of its next strategy. The next strategy will cover the period of 2011 – 2016.

WHAT IS A COUNTRY PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY?

The CPS (also called a Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) in some countries) is a central tool of Bank Management and the Board of Executive Directors for reviewing and guiding the country programs and, ultimately, judging the impact of its work. Starting from the country's vision of its development goals, which may be set out in a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) for IDA-eligible countries or another country-owned and country-led strategy process, the CPS/CAS is prepared in collaboration with the government and in consultation with civil society, development partners, and other stakeholders. In the case of Vietnam, the country's vision and development goals are outlined in the new Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP). The objective of a CPS/CAS is to identify the key areas in which Bank Group support can best assist the country to achieve its sustainable development and poverty reduction goals. As the CPS follows the cycle of the SEDP in Vietnam, it is prepared every five years, whereas in some countries it is prepared every three or four years. Halfway through the new strategy, the CPS Progress Report, a mid-term stocktaking, will be developed and as the strategy comes to an end, a CPS Completion Report is developed to assess how well the strategy has worked. The World Bank in Vietnam is currently in the process of assessing the current CPS. What is in a CPS? A CPS/CAS has four main building blocks: the country's development vision, diagnosis of its development challenges, development results to be influenced by the Bank, an indicative program of Bank lending and non-lending activities The CPS will furthermore be results-based and be prepared jointly with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in countries where they have activities. Read more...