RoK to provide 1 billion USD soft loans for Vietnam

Hanoi, Aug 15 (VNA) - The Republic of Korea (RoK) will provide Vietnam with 1 billion USD as soft loans for its infrastructure development from now till 2011, becoming Vietnam 's second largest bilateral donor after Japan .

A framework agreement to this effect was signed in Hanoi on August 14 by Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc and RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Im Hong-jae.

The sum also turns Vietnam into the RoK's biggest recipient of official development assistance capital, Phuc said, adding that since 1993, the RoK Government has funded 16 projects in Vietnam with a total investment of 471.4 million USD.

In 2006, the RoK Government decided to increase preferential credits for Vietnam to more than 100 million USD per annum from the previous 20 million USD, focusing on infrastructure, the environment and information technology, the minister said.

On this occasion, Minister Phuc handed over insignias "For the cause of development of the planning sector" to Yoo Yeon-chul, Counsellor at the RoK Embassy and Kim Seung-beom, Chief Representative of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Vietnam.-Enditem