Vietnam expects to get more ODA from EU

The European Union (EU) will annually grant more than 300 million euro in official assistance development (ODA) to Vietnam, announced Ambassador and Head of the EU delegation to Vietnam Franz Jessen on October 10.

Franz Jessen said the EU is considering its ODA loans for Vietnam in the 2014-2020 period which may be higher than the previous years’ level although it is reducing its ODA to other countries.

He said middle-income countries are not entitled to get ODA, but Vietnam is among low-middle-income countries.

Franz Jessen informed that in the next three weeks, many EU delegations will visit Vietnam along with 70 European businesses.

At present, the EU is the largest donor of non-refundable aid to Vietnam. The Union is also Vietnam’s second biggest ODA provider, with more than US$11 billion in the 1996-2010 period that has greatly contributed to the country’s socio-economic development.

The EU granted around US$1.1 billion for Vietnam in 2012, making up 13.24% of its total aid amount provided by foreign countries. About 32.5% of EU financial assistance (approximately US$324.05 million) is in the form of non-refundable aid.