Int’l donors commit to backing VN

On the threshold of the 20th anniversary of development cooperation between Viet Nam and international donors, VGP had separately interviewed ADB Country Director Tomoyuki Kimura, JICA Chief Representative Mutsuya Mori and Chief Representative Korea Exim Bank Kim Young-seok.

How do you evaluate the efficiency of ODA in Viet Nam over the last 20 years?  

ADB Country Director Tomoyuki Kimura assessed that Viet Nam has attained high economic growth rates and fastest poverty reduction pace in the world due to its efficient use of ODA.  

“Post-project evaluations suggest that with 90% success rate most of ADB projects in the past have been able to deliver good, intended results,” said Mr. Tomoyuki Kimura.

According to JICA Chief Representative Mutsuya Mori, an array of difficulties have emerged during the implementation of ODA programs in Viet Nam. However “once getting over these problems, we have built mutual trust which has become bases for two countries’ friendship,” JICA Chief Representative affirmed.

Korea Exim Bank Chief Representative Kim Young-seok said that “Viet Nam is one of the developing countries which used ODA capital in a very efficient way for its economic and social development”.

ODA has contributed to improving the favorable environment for an inflow of FDI which has been seen as the major driving force behind Viet Nam’s development.

Viet Nam has achieved most of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and there has been remarkable improvement in the social indices which are related with basic human needs.

Although many efforts have been made, there are still delays in implementing some ODA-funded projects, and some projects progressed slowly. In your opinion, how could be these issues addressed? What should Viet Nam do to improve the efficiency of the ODA disbursement?

ADB Country Director Tomoyuki Kimura said that ADB has approved about 130 loan funded projects, half of which have been completed. ADB however acknowledged many of these projects faced significant implementation delays.

ADB therefore welcomes the recent issuance of Decree 38 on management and utilization of ODA and other concessional lending. Under the Degree, procurement works for ODA projects can be initiated before loan approval. This will significantly expedite project implementation and improve ODA utilization.

ADB also suggests the Government apply more rigorous project readiness filters to ensure that projects in the pipeline are only approved once they have achieved a high degree of total project readiness.

In fact, a number of ODA projects have been delayed due to such problems as site clearance and related legal frameworks. To clearly identify the problems, both the Japanese and Vietnamese sides have to get into detailed discussions, said JICA Chief Representative Mutsuya Mori.

Meanwhile, Korea Exim Bank Chief Representative Kim Young-seok recommended that the monitoring and evaluation of the PMU should be intensified and the result of the evaluation should be reflected in the allocation of the next projects or government budget.

“The Vietnamese Government should focus on mega infrastructure projects which may bring nation-wide impacts on economic development rather than scattering the ODA capital to many small and medium sized projects,” Korea Exim Bank Chief Representative Kim Young-seok said.

What are the priorities and orientations in ODA policies for Viet Nam for the future?

ADB prioritizes its assistance to Viet Nam in six sectors, including agriculture and natural resources, education, energy, finance, transport, and water supply and other municipal infrastructure and services.

ADB will also continue support for Viet Nam’s participation in regional cooperation and integration initiatives, such as the Greater Mekong Sub-region program and integration into the ASEAN Economic Community. For ADB’s part, strong emphasis is placed on 3 C’s - - - connectivity, competitiveness and a greater sense of community, Mr. Tomoyuki Kimura said.

JICA Chief Representative Mutsuya Mori announced that the basic policy of Japanese assistance to Viet Nam is to help Viet Nam achieve its goal of becoming  basically modern-oriented industrialized country by 2020, as stated in “the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2011-2020” and the “5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015”.

Japan, the country's biggest bilateral ODA donor would support Viet Nam to achieve sustainable development through the implementation of three pillars such as economic growth and strengthening global competitiveness; coping with vulnerabilities ;and strengthening governance.

Japan will also back Viet Nam to address emerging environmental issues (urban environment, natural   environment) caused by rapid urbanization and industrialization, and address threats such as disasters and climate change.

Chief Representative Korea Exim Bank Kim Young-seok said that the RoK is concentrating on the transportation infrastructure development considering that rough and bad condition of the transportation sector is one of the major obstacles to Viet Nam’s economic development.

“We will continue to support infrastructure development including transportation sector while we will diversify our support for human resource development, enhancing medical service, water supply and treatment, as well as responding climate change,” he concluded.

Thank you so much!