Japan pledged 97.5 billion yen in aid to Vietnam on Friday to support Hanoi's economic reforms, Foreign Ministry officials said.
The pledge was made at a two-day consultative group meeting for Vietnam that was held in Tokyo through Friday. The aid is a part of $2.38 billion that was promised by the international community at the meeting. Twenty-one countries, including Australia, France and Russia, as well as six international organizations and the World Bank participated in the meeting.
Yen loans will account for 85 billion yen of Japan's aid, to improve infrastructure such as electricity generation facilities and roads, the ministry officials said. Tran Xuan Gia, Vietnam's minister of planning and investment, told a press conference after the meeting that the Vietnamese economy will grow 9 percent in 1998. Gia added, however, that Vietnam's economy might be affected by the recent currency turmoil in Southeast Asia, as direct foreign investment from countries hit by the crisis slows down.
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