Vietnam, Japan ink $240 mln ODA loan deal Cai Mep - Thi Vai International Port, an ODA-funded project in the southern city of Vung Tau. Tuoi Tre The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday closed two agreements on two programs that will be funded by more than US$200 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans. The signing came one day after Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada inked a Diplomatic Note to provide 25 billion yen (US$242.5 million, VND5.14 trillion) worth of ODA loans to support Vietnam in the 2013 fiscal year, which began on April 1 last year and will conclude on March 31 this year. The Support Program to Respond to Climate Change in Vietnam will receive 10 billion yen from the loans, while the remaining 15 billion yen will be earmarked for the Economic Management Competitiveness Credit 2 program. At a press meeting on Thursday, JICA pledged to provide another ODA loan package of 120 billion yen for Vietnam by the end of this month. The total ODA for Vietnam in the 2013 fiscal year will thus amount to some 200 billion yen, or nearly $2 billion. While the ODA for the 2014 fiscal year remains undisclosed, JICA Chief Representative Mori Mutsuya said the figure will not be lower than that of the 2013 financial year. Mutsuya said that under proposals from the Japanese and Vietnamese governments, more ODA agreements are set to be signed in the future. Japan has been Vietnam’s largest ODA sponsor since 1995, according to JICA. From 1992 to 2011, the East Asian country provided more than 2 billion yen worth of assistance for Vietnam, accounting for 30 percent of the total loans Vietnam received from its international donors. Tuoitrenews