The World Bank (WB), the biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA), pledged to finance $622 million to Vietnam in 2016, nearly halving the figure of 2015, according to the national Television station (VTV). The funding has focused in the infrastructure, including transport and urban development, energy, environment and public administrative reform, said Sandeep Mahajan, expert from the WB in Vietnam. The bank pledged $20.1 billion in soft loans and grants in the 1993-2015 period. Of the sum, $17.32 billion came from the International Development Association (IDA), focusing on transport, urban, agriculture, energy, education, health and policy reforming projects, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. ODA is falling as Vietnam, one of the world’s poorest countries in the 1980s, has leapfrogged to middle-income status. Many experts said that Vietnam should not depend on the development aid. (vtv.vn Feb 29)
