Japan has pledged a total JPY1.91 trillion ($21.04 billion) in official development assistance (ODA) for development projects in Vietnam over the past 20 years, Head of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) office in Vietnam, Motonori Tsuno said. The sum includes JPY1.83 trillion worth of loans and JPY83.4 billion worth of grants, Mr. Tusono said at a seminar in the capital city of Hanoi on Jan 30. Besides, the Japanese government has provided technical support to Vietnam during the past 20 years. It has sent 5,000 experts to Vietnam and helped train 18,000 Vietnamese in Japan. At the CG meeting 2012, the Japanese government pledged to provide $2.6 billion in ODA for Vietnam in 2013, nearly doubling the figure committed for 2012. Earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said that Japan considers Vietnam a leading partner in terms of official development assistance (ODA) and will maintain a high level of aid for the country.Vietnam may benefit from the Japanese government’s policy as Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Finance Minister Taro Aso have agreed to raise Japan’s ODA budget for fiscal year 2013 to JPY421 billion, up JPY3 billion from the budget for the current fiscal year. (Kinh Te Viet Nam The Gioi – Vietnam & World Economy Jan 31 p1, Hanoi Moi Jan 31 p8, Cong An Nhan Dan – People’s Police Jan 31 p1)
