Chairman of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Chang Won-sam has affirmed that the scale of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam is projected to surpass $52 million in 2024, marking an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2023.
The KOICA chairman made the announcement at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang in Hanoi on March 19.
Mr. Chang Won-sam said that this was his fourth Vietnam visit to assess the progress of KOICA projects and discuss cooperation directions to concretize the commitments of ODA for the period 2024 - 2027 by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his visit to Vietnam in June 2023.
Deputy PM Quang highly appreciated the South Korean Government's provision of ODA to Vietnam, noting it as the fastest, highest quality, and most effective, significantly contributing to Vietnam's socio-economic development. He believed that South Korea would soon become Vietnam's largest ODA provider.
Mr. Quang called on KOICA to continue supporting the increasingly flourishing relationship between Vietnam and South Korea in general, and between Vietnam and KOICA in particular. He urged for the expansion of non-refundable aid to Vietnam, especially in areas of innovation, digital transformation, and high technology.
He proposed that KOICA consider pushing the South Korean Government to make an official commitment to the Rural Electrification Project from the national grid to rural areas in the northern province of Dien Bien, with an estimated total capital of around $20 million.
As of the end of 2023, South Korea's non-refundable aid through KOICA to Vietnam reached approximately $600 million.
(Tin Tuc [1])