The French Development Agency, or AFD, has signed an agreement to provide a loan of EUR100 million to help the Vietnamese government finance its economic recovery plan, the French Embassy said in a statement Mar. 29. The agreement, signed by Deputy Finance Minister Tran Xuan Ha and Ambassador Jean-François Girault of France in Vietnam, is part of a program supporting Vietnam's public investment reforms in partnership with the World Bank, the statement said. The World Bank has already agreed to provide the country with $500 million by the end of 2009, it noted. Vietnam will receive additional funding for the program from the World Bank and AFD before the end of 2010, it said. By the end of this year, the AFD will have provided EUR1.1 billion in loans for development projects in Vietnam, it added.
