Japan to maintain aid for Vietnam despite crisis

Jun 14, 2011, 4:32 GMT

Hanoi - The Japanese government pledged not cut development aid for Vietnam despite having to deal with the aftermath of a crippling earthquake and tsunami, a Vietnamese official said Tuesday.

'The Japanese government decided not to reduce ODA (official development assistance) for Vietnam as Vietnam is their important partner in the region,' said Nguyen Xuan Tien, deputy director general of the Planning Ministry's Foreign Economic Relations Department.

North-eastern Japan was hit by a magnitude-9 earthquake and a tsunami on March 11, causing thousands of deaths and large-scale destruction.

Vietnam will receive 1.8 billion dollars in Japanese aid this year. Tokyo is the second largest donor after the World Bank, which is providing 2.6 billion dollars.

The minister of planning and investment and the Japanese ambassador to Vietnam are to approve preferential credit worth 710 million dollars later Tuesday to help finance construction of a highway from Hanoi to south Vietnam via Ho Chi Minh City, Tien said.

Foreign donors have pledged nearly 8 billion dollars for Vietnam in 2011, the same level as in 2010. Several have, however, criticized Vietnam's lack of progress on fighting corruption and backsliding towards state domination of the economy.

A number of countries have announced they will phase out ODA to Vietnam in 2012 as it will develop into a middle-income nation.

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