Japan will fund $5.5 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) nations in the next three years, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Sakaba Mitsuo told a conference held in Hanoi on November 30. Japan will continue raising ODA for the region, the ambassador said at the conference named “Overcoming crisis-moving towards a more dynamic GMS”. Addressing the meeting, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said sub-region’s economy has seen positive but unsustainable signs, the government said on its website Monday. The GMS needs more assistance from international donors to remove the obstacles resulted from the economic crisis, Phuc added. The sub-region will focus on improving living conditions of local people, developing hydroelectric power, limiting the adverse impacts of flood and draught, and strengthening environmental protection, officials agreed at the conference. Ayumi Konishi, ADB Country Director in Vietnam, also said at the forum that the bank has financed 41 projects valued at $11 billion and provided technical assistance to 179 other projects worth $208 million in GMS countries. Of these, Vietnam accounts for 14 financed and 135 technical assistance projects.
