The French Development Agency (AFD) has pledged to provide over EUR1.5 billion for development projects in Vietnam over the last 20 years, making the country the second largest partner of AFD globally, said AFD Country Director Rémi Genevey.
AFD has financed 75 projects in Vietnam, mainly in rural development, energy, transport, clean water supply, irrigation and environmental sanitation, Mr. Genevey said at a meeting to mark the French agency’s 20th anniversary in Vietnam.
In 2013, the agency committed EUR146 million in soft loans for Vietnam, of which EUR87 million has been disbursed. AFD will continue providing at least EUR100 million per year in loans for Vietnam in the next years. The funding will concentrate on encouraging sustainable and comprehensive urban development, modernizing production and coping with climate change.
In its 2013-2015 cooperation strategy, AFD assistance will focus on shifting Vietnam’s growth model in a fair and sustainable manner, he said.
AFD will consider resuming a program to provide loans for Vietnamese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) without guarantee from the government in 2015, he noted, giving no details about the specific amount. (vov.vn Jun 17, thesaigontimes.vn Jun 17, Dau Tu – Investment Jun 18 p2, Thanh Nien – Young People Jun 18 p7)
