Int’l Donors Pledge $6.5B ODA for Vietnam Next Year

International donors pledged to provide Vietnam with nearly $6.5 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for 2013, lower than the $7.38 billion committed for 2012.The commitment was made at the Consultative Group (CG) Meeting in the capital city of Hanoi on December 10.This is the third consecutive year that total ODA commitment has fallen. Commitment was $8 billion for 2010, $7.9 billion for 2011 and $7.3 billion for 2012. The decline is due to the economic crisis and Vietnam’s middle-income, WB Country Director in Vietnam, Victoria Kwakwa said.Japan remained the biggest bilateral donor with $2.6 billion, up from $1.9 billion committed for 2012. South Korea and the EU pledged to provide $1.2 billion and EUR734.16 million in ODA, respectively. The 2013 is forecast to remain a difficult year for not only Vietnam but donor countries, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said, expecting that the international donor community will continue assisting Vietnam as ODA remains an important source of fund for the country’s poverty reduction and development investment.Vietnam pledges to continue cooperation with donors to accelerate the implementation of projects and improve the efficiency of ODA use, Mr. Vinh said.The minister also announced that starting 2013, the CG Meeting will change to the Vietnam Development Partnership Forum (VDPF), co-chaired by the World Bank (WB) and the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).The 2012 CG Meeting focused on analyzing Vietnam’s economic situation and its 2013 priorities, creating foundations for the country to successfully perform as a middle-income country, and amending the Land Law for comprehensive and sustainable development.Sanjay Kalra, IMF Resident Representative in Vietnam, said that Vietnam should continue to tighten macroeconomic policies to curb inflation and improve confidence in the currency. To reach this goal, the fiscal policy should continue to support macroeconomic stabilization efforts while the monetary policy focuses on inflation control.Vietnam is one of the five countries that have received the biggest amount of ODA in the world. However, disbursement is lower than the world’s average. ODA is one of the key sources of dollars for Vietnam, after exports, foreign direct investment (FDI) and remittances. Experts, however, said that Vietnam should reduce the use of ODA to improve efficiency and avoid a debt burden in the future. (Tien Phong – Pioneer Dec 11 p5, Vietnam News Dec 11 p4, baohaiquan.vn Dec 10, vietnamplus.vn Dec 10).