HANOI, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expected Vietnam's economic growth of 6.7 percent in 2016, staying unchanged compared to 2015, despite downside risk due to ongoing severe drought, said the ADB in a press release on Friday.
The country's economic growth is projected to stand at 6.5 percent in 2017, said the press release issued during a two-day visit of ADB President Takehiko Nakao to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, in late 2015, Vietnam's National Assembly targeted the country's economic growth to be 6.7 percent in 2016.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in early June said his country's economic growth is expected to hit around 6.8 percent in 2017.
Concerning climate change, Vietnam has become increasingly vulnerable to climate change-related extreme events such as droughts and flooding that severely affect agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said the ADB.
Recently, ADB has approved 3 million U.S. dollars in granting assistance to support relief efforts in the wake of the drought and salt water intrusion in Vietnam's South Central, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions.
