By Ho Binh Minh and Grant McCool

Reuters

HANOI (Reuters) - Donors on Friday pledged $4.45 billion in aid to Vietnam for 2007, up a fifth from $3.7 billion this year, as the Communist-run country seeks to improve its under-developed infrastructure and sustain high growth.

International donors urged Vietnam, which will become the newest member of the World Trade Organization on January 11, to accelerate its move to becoming a market economy.

"Vietnam, with its WTO membership, is entering a new stage of development," Asian Development Bank country director Ayumi Konishi told a news conference. "Vietnam needs to be more competitive."

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Posted by pichu at December 15, 2006 9:35 PM