KOICA Pledges $200M Aid Package to Vietnam for 2024-2027

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has pledged a $200-million non-refundable aid package to Vietnam for the 2024-2027 period, aimed at supporting the Southeast Asian country’s economic and social development, local media reported.

KOICA President Chang Won Sam made the commitment at a meeting with Vietnamse Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in South Korea on May 30.

The grant will focus on areas such as the environment, climate change response, healthcare, education, and digital transformation, the KOICA president added, noting that initially, $52 million will be provided in 2024, targeting public administration development, healthcare, and education, with plans to expand into climate change response and digital transformation.

To implement the high-level cooperation agreement in official development assistance (ODA), Minister Son called on KOICA to further expand ODA support for Vietnam in new priority areas such as semiconductor engineering training, innovation, green economy, circular economy, high-tech agriculture, and humanitarian aid.

The Vietnames minister also suggested that KOICA consider collaborating with the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) to implement South Korean government ODA projects in Vietnam for improved efficiency and to expedite the formal commitment to the rural electrification project from the national grid in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien. 

(Tien Phong, Dang Cong San, VietnamNet, Stockbiz, Tuoi Tre, baotuyenquang.com.vn)