The Japanese government has signed agreements to provide a total of $204 million in official development assistance (ODA) for three development projects in Vietnam on the occasion of the official visit of Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to the Southeast Asian country. Of the sum, JPY20.967 billion ($196 million) will be used for a water improvement project in HCM City, JPY500 million in non-refundable aid to help Hanoi with medical equipment and JPY390 million for Vietnam’s project on human resource development. Prior to the events, Mr. Kishida and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh chaired the eighth meeting session of the Vietnam-Japan cooperation committee on May 13. Minister Kishida promised that Japan would continue to support Vietnam’s social-economic development by providing assistance for projects on infrastructure, boosting competitiveness, improving human resources, and responding to climate change. Japan pledged $2.5 billion of ODA to support infrastructure modernization and climate change projects in Vietnam as well as human resources, learning and skills development in the fiscal year 2015. (tuoitrenews.vn May 6, VietNamNet May 6, baodautu.vn May 6, thesaigontimes.vn May 6)
