Japan, Vietnam’s largest ODA provider

The signing ceremony for the provision of the JPY11 billion Japanese ODA loan for Vietnam in the 2016 fiscal year

Since Japan resumed its official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in 1992, this country has been the largest bilateral ODA provider for Vietnam. Total Japanese ODA for Vietnam so far has reached JPY2.8 trillion or about US$27 billion.

While many other bilateral and multilateral ODA providers have gradually reduced their assistance for Vietnam since it became a middle-income country in 2010, there has been no decrease in Japanese ODA for Vietnam since then. Former Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said all major infrastructure projects in Vietnam in recent years have been funded by Japanese ODA. According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan will remain an ODA provider for Vietnam after 2017.

In order to assist Vietnam in developing socioeconomic infrastructure, enhancing competitiveness, attracting foreign investment, and accelerating its integration into the global economy, earlier this September the Japanese government provided the Vietnamese government with an ODA loan worth JPY11 billion (US$106 million) for the 2016 fiscal year.

This Japanese ODA loan will help Vietnam develop the Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit (EMCC) program which aims to strengthen reforms in several priority fields as part of the 2016-2020 Socioeconomic Development Plan approved by the National Assembly this April. Attention will be focused on three pillars. The first pillar is maintaining macroeconomic stability, tightening financial management, dealing with bad debts, banking reform, increasing transparency, thrift, and accountability in the public sector. The second one is strengthening the public administrative apparatus, the management of state-owned enterprises and public investments to enhance the transparency and healthiness of state management. Finally, it is improving the business environment, easing the administrative burden, improving tax policies, public procurement, and administrative procedures.

Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada said, unlike previous loans which mostly helped Vietnam improve infrastructure, this new ODA loan will help the Vietnamese government promote administrative reforms and improve financial institutions. According to the ambassador, the Japanese government has seen the great potential of the Vietnamese economy, but due to limited budget, the Vietnamese government needs to focus investment on priority areas. Japan provided this loan to finance projects in such priority areas, helping Vietnam to achieve its development goals for the 2016-2020 period.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung said this loan is of great significance to the Vietnamese government in the current context. The effective use of this loan will not only contribute to socioeconomic development in Vietnam but also deepen the cooperative relations between Vietnam and Japan. Therefore, the Vietnamese government pledged to use the loan in a transparent and most effective manner.

Nguyen Hoa / ven.vn