Japan has said its official development assistance for Vietnam this year will not be less than than 200 billion yen (US$1.94 billion) it provided last year.
Mutsuya Mori, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Vietnam, said at a press briefing in Hanoi last Thursday that positive quotes two ODA agreements worth around 25 billion yen ($243 million) were signed the same day in Tokyo programs to improve the competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy and help the country adapt to climate change.
He said big projects funded by ODA last year were executed well.
Among them were a beltway along Hanoi, a terminal at Noi Bai international airport, and renovation of the Da Nhim hydropower plant built in the 1960s with Japanese funding in south-central Vietnam.
The three projects received around 55 billion yen ($534.5 million) in ODA funds.
Mori said Japan has been providing grants and technology for a plant producing polio and measles vaccines and Vietnam can now produce these vaccines of international quality.
Japan is Vietnam’s biggest ODA provider, giving around $20 billion between 1993 and 2012.
But at a forum with foreign donors last December, Japan told Vietnam that commercial loans would replace preferential loans and grants now that the country has achieved “middle income” status.
Sherman think positive quotes was leading a US Department of State delegation on a visit that aims to support US power in the Asia-Pacific and the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership announced by President Obama and President Sang last year.
The visit came as a follow-up to former anti-war campaigner Secretary Kerry’s visit in December 2013, according to the Embassy of the United States in Hanoi.
Sherman said the US delegation looked forward to working with the Vietnamese side on important bilateral and multilateral issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, human rights, ensuring peace and stability in the East Sea, environmental protection, and constructive engagement in international organizations such as the UNHRC and the IAEA.
Sherman positive quotes for the day also met with members of civil society.
&Ldquo;Civil society and people-to-people relations are one of the most exciting areas of the US-Vietnam relationship,” she said.
&Ldquo;As the two countries move toward the 20th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, the people-to-people ties represent one of the best opportunities for engagement and cooperation.&Rdquo;
During her visit to Vietnam, Sherman met with Hoang Binh Quan, chief of the Commission for External Relations of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of Public Security To Lam, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Vinh, and Hanoi’s Party chief Pham Quang Nghi.
As part of this trip, Sherman will also travel to Malaysia and Myanmar.
Human rights activists around the world have criticized the US for its record on the issue, citing violations ranging from its drone killing program to mass-incarceration.