The European Union (EU) has pledged to provide EUR745.3 million ($1 billion) worth of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in 2012, accounting for 13.24% of the total pledged by international donors for the country. Ambassador Franz Jessen, who is Head of the EU delegation to Vietnam, made the statement at the launch of the “EU Blue Book 2012,” an annual publication on EU development in Vietnam, on May 31. Of the sum, non-refundable aid makes up 32.5%, or EUR245.21 million, Jessen said, highlighting that EU remains one of the leading ODA providers for Vietnam. He hoped that the EU’s grants and loans to Vietnam will stimulate policy changes and growth in targeted areas, including public finance management and economic reform, private sector development, poverty reduction, administration, social affairs and technology. The diplomat said the Vietnam-EU relations have been expanded beyond development cooperation programs. Amid the economic crisis in Europe in particular and in the globe in general, the EU’s remarkable committed assistance to Vietnam has reflected the importance of the Vietnam-EU relations, he said. The ambassador described the upcoming signing of the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) this year as a manifestation of the wide and unceasingly developing cooperation between the bloc and Vietnam. The EU has become Vietnam’s second biggest trade partner with the two-way trade stood at EUR18 billion in 2011, including the latter’s trade surplus of EUR7.6 billion. Vietnam and the EU plan to start the first round of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation between July and September 2012. (vov.vn June 1, thesaigontimes.vn May 31)
