Crown Prince of Japan Naruhito Kotaichi will pay an official visit to Vietnam in the coming time to tighten the two countries’ friendship and relationship, the spokesman Le Dung told a press briefing on January 8.
The visit will be made at the invitation of Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan.
During the press conference, spokesman Dung also affirmed Vietnam and Japan are cooperating closely to address all issues related to the provision of Japanese ODA to Vietnam.
He announced that the committee convened its second meeting in Hanoi on December 19 2008 to discuss measures to tackle any acts of corruption involving the misuse of Japanese ODA.
“The Vietnamese government is tough in the fight against corruption,” Dung said, expressing hopes that, as a result of such close coordination, Japan would soon resume its provision of ODA to Vietnam in accordance with the two countries’ agreement to develop their relations towards a strategic partnership.
At the annual CG meeting held early December last year in Hanoi, Japan announced its decision to halt new ODA aids for Vietnam due to PCI scam, which slashed 7.2 per cent pledged ODAs by donors for Vietnam this year to US$5.014 billion.
However, the Japanese side also said it would soon resume providing ODA aids for Vietnam after immediately inter-governmental anticorruption forces bring the scam to light.
Last month, the Vietnamese Ministry of Police made an urgent probe into allegations that PCI executives had bribed Huynh Ngoc Sy, who was overseeing the East-West Highway Project in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam said that a verdict in the trial of Japanese executives is expected by the end of this month.
Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba told Thanh Nien newspaper’s reporter the Japanese government wanted to see what action Vietnamese authorities will take against the official accused of bribery. (Liberated Saigon, VNA)
Vietnamese
