The meeting was chaired by Deputy Director General of Viet Nam Social Security Dao Viet Anh.

The Viet Nam Social Security’s representatives at the meeting include the Department of International Cooperation; the Department of Fund Investment; the Department of Finance and Accounting; the Department of Social Insurance Book and Health Insurance Card; Department of Social Insurance Implementation; Institute of Social Security Science and the Information Technology Centre.

Representing the IMF consists of Senior Economist Rita Mesias and Economist Weining Xin.

During the meeting, discussions also focused on improving pension policies in the context of amending the Law on Social Insurance and related legislation as part of Viet Nam's policy reform.

Participants at the meeting between Viet Nam Social Security and the International Monetary Fund experts on June 17 in Ha Noi

Additionally, there was an emphasis on providing ongoing support for the development of a forecasting model for the Viet Nam Sosical Security, with a focus on ensuring accurate and sustainable predictions over the next two years.

Both sides also discussed the importance of continuing in-depth training for key personnel. This training is crucial for ensuring the long-term sustainability and proactive management of the fund, as well as improving the quality of evidence-based policy development.

Other topics included enhancing the Viet Nam Social Security’s capacity in fund management and finance through coordinated training sessions, both domestically and internationally, sponsored by the IMF; gaining the IMF's support for the development of the Viet Nam Social Security through policy consultation and adjustment with the Government and relevant ministries as well as collaboration with other international donors and partners for co-funding initiatives.

According to reports, before 2021, the IMF primarily supported the Vietnamese Government in policy consultation and technical assistance in the fields of finance, banking and monetary policies.

The IMF's delegation visited Viet Nam twice a year, regularly assessed Viet Nam's macroeconomic, fiscal and monetary conditions, providing suitable policy recommendations.

During this period, the Viet Nam Social Security had limited joint activities with the IMF, mainly cooperating through the delegation by providing data and addressing related issues.

Illustrative image (internet)

Thus, between 2021 and 2023, the Department of International Cooperation actively engaged with the IMF to secure funding for implementing the Viet Nam Social Security’s key tasks, including expanding social insurance coverage, administrative reform, digital transformation, fund investment, communication and social-insurance fund balance forecasting.

The two sides had cooperated in technical support for evaluating the Viet Nam Social Security’s system and pension coverage, particularly for informal workers, through policy analysis and fund data assessment, laying the groundwork for recommending amendments to relevant documents to develop a sustainable fund for the Viet Nam Social Security.

The efforts also included building and transferring a forecasting model for the social-insurance fund, providing training on its use, and enhancing the capacity to balance the fund. These measures ensured that experts at the Viet Nam Social Security could independently develop and adjust models to assist in fund management, forecasting and policy consultation.