Japan provides JPY11 billion of ODA for Vietnam

(VNF) - Representative from Ministry of Planning and Investment and Japan signed the exchange of notes that the Japanese Government will provide the Vietnamese Government with JPY11 billion of ODA in the 2016 fiscal year to help improve socio-economic infrastructure and the competitiveness of the national economy on September 6^th.

The diplomatic note to this effect was signed by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung (third from right) and Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Hiroshi Fukada inked an Exchange of Note on the ODA sum (Photo: VGP/Huy Thang)

The JPY11 billion in ODA for the Vietnamese Government to launch a program to support economic management and improve economic competitiveness. The ODA is aimed at supporting the Vietnamese Government to launch the Economic Management and Competitiveness (EMCC) Development Policy Operation Program to reform some prioritized areas in realizing the five-year socio-economic development plan from 2016-2020, which was ratified by the National Assembly in April.

Policy reforms in three pillars will be carried out. Firstly, it helps the Government maintain macro-economic stability, strengthen financial and fiscal management, including bad debt treatment, banking reform, debt and money management. Secondly, it heads to increase transparency, practice thrift and improve responsibility in the public sector as well as strengthen public administrative bodies, State-owned enterprises management and public investment. Thirdly, it aims to improve the business environment and reduce financial burden, tax policy and public shopping as well as enhance administrative procedures.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Trung hailed Japan as Vietnam’s biggest bilateral ODA supplier, pledging that the ODA will be used effectively, contributing to further deepening the bilateral economic strategic partnership.

The above sum, equivalent to USD106 million, will enable the Vietnamese Government to carry out the third phase of the Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit programme (EMCC), which aims to strengthen reform in several priority fields as part of the 2016-2020 socio-economic scheme adopted by the National Assembly last April.

Japanese Ambassador Fukada expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Government will use the loan productively and transparently, contributing to helping the country with administrative and financial institution reform.

He also took the occasion to urge Vietnam to pay attention to personnel training and effective policy enforcement. Based on the diplomatic note, the Vietnamese Finance Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will sign a specific lending agreement in the future.

According to the Ministry of Planning – Investment, the signed exchange of notes is stipulated to the framework conditions for the provision and use of ODA loans for the above-mentioned program. On the basis of this framework, leaders of Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance and representative from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will sign loan agreements that are specific to the programs.

With JPY11 billion (about USD106 million) of ODA loans through the diplomatic note was formally signed, ODA commitments include non-refundable aid and ODA loan from the Japanese Government to the Government of Vietnam from 1992 to now reach JPY2,800 billion (more than USD27 billion)./.

Minh Phuong