Speaking to the media after the signing ceremony of a diplomatic note on Japan’s grant of $900 million of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said that the two sides would continue cooperating in dealing with the PCI scandal.

What do you think about the impacts of the PCI scandal on ODA sources for Vietnam?

The ODA of the international community and Japan given to Vietnam is used quite effectively and Vietnam always takes measures to ensure transparency. Some inspection groups of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japanese government and congress came to Vietnam recently to check the use of ODA. They agreed that Vietnam effectively used this source of capital and fulfilled related formalities and met legal and transparency requirements.

However, it is unavoidable that there will be gaps in management and some will take advantage of them to do wrong things. When the PCI case was unveiled, we closely combined with Japan and the two sides had a joint action programme to combat corruption in ODA-funded projects. The bilateral agreements were published on the media.

In your opinion, what can Vietnam expect from Japanese ODA?

I believe that with the strategic partnership relations between the two sides, the source of ODA from Japan will be an important source for Vietnam. Japan now takes the lead for providing ODA for Vietnam. Of the total ODA committed to Vietnam by international donors, $45 billion, Japan accounts for 30%. This source of capital is used in large-scale infrastructure project and these projects will facilitate Vietnam’s economic development.

Japan is considering some big projects to assist Vietnam in, including the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, the North-South highway, the North-South express railway, and many urban traffic projects in Hanoi, HCM City and other cities. I hope that capital assistance from Japan will increase. Despite economic difficulties, Japan’s assistance to Vietnam still increases around 10% annually.

How did Vietnam try to reclaim the source of capital from Japan?

The resumption of Japan’s ODA to Vietnam was thanks to the efforts of both sides. Vietnam has combined with JICA and other agencies and the two sides set up the joint committee to fight corruption in ODA-funded projects and to design a joint action programme. ODA capital has been used effectively in Vietnam; the PCI case is the only one of its kind.

According to the Vietnam-Japan committee on fighting corruption in ODA-funded project, there will be a third party, which belongs to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, participating in choosing contractors for Japanese ODA-funded projects. How will Vietnam realise this plan?

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has the Agency for Bidding Control, which is responsible for supervising bidding activities of state agencies. This agency and ODA providers will together supervise biddings in ODA-funded projects. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is the agency that performs state supervision.

JICA’s representative said that this signing ceremony is for projects of the 2008 fiscal year. ODA grants for projects in subsequent years depend on Vietnam’s action. What do you think about this?

That’s right! Vietnam’s specific actions are in accordance with the commitments between the two sides. The signing of this diplomatic note today and the capital borrowing agreement tomorrow is to realise our commitments.

PV

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