JICA merges with part of JBIC to form comprehensive aid body

TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo - The Japan International Cooperation Agency merged Wednesday with the low-interest yen loan operations of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, forming the world's largest agency for the provision of bilateral development aid.

JICA, which had been in charge of some grants-in-aid and technical cooperation
alone, has taken charge of grants-in-aid operations that had been directly
administered by the Foreign Ministry.
As a result, JICA, headed by former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako
Ogata, is implementing projects worth about $10.28 billion through a network of
about 100 overseas offices staffed with some 1,600 personnel.
The consolidation is expected to speed up Japan's aid operations and to
increase their effects as the single agency covers grants-in-aid, yen loans and
technical cooperation.
It is also expected to help cut costs and labor for on-site surveys in
potential recipient countries, which had been conducted separately by the three
entities.
JICA President Ogata said at a ceremony to commemorate the launch of the new
body that a vision for the reorganized agency is an ''inclusive and dynamic
development'' with which JICA officials will strive to narrow economic gaps in
the aid recipient countries and benefit as many people as possible.
She said JICA will continue to focus on on-site operations and proactively
adopt ideas of local aid officials, while it will try to further expedite the
aid provision process and explore the best mix of the three tools for
assistance.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone also attended the ceremony and expressed his
wish that the new JICA will strive to enhance the quality of its aid at a time
when Japan's fiscal conditions are ''extremely tight'' and the nation's
official development assistance budget has been cut significantly.
''Improving the quality of aid and increasing its volume will be indispensable
for Japan to secure its international influence,'' Nakasone said. He pledged to
work toward reversing the downsizing trend for Japan's ODA budget.
Cuts in Japan's ODA budget have resulted in a decline in the country's status
as a major donor. Japan dropped from being the top donor in 2000 to fifth place
in 2007.
At a press conference following the ceremony, Ogata deplored the shrinkage in
Japan's ODA budget, saying its proportion is far lower than that of social
security costs, and sought the understanding of taxpayers on the importance of
aid provision.
''With the decrease in the ODA budget, some countries think Japan's enthusiasm
for development aid has burned out,'' Ogata said. ''Japan is still the world's
second-largest economy and how we steer the aid policy will depend on the
awareness of politicians and the general public.''