The Japanese Government has committed 4.4 million USD in aid to a project preserving and planting forests in Lai Chau, Lam Dong and Ca Mau provinces.

The project was signed by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Develoment Cao Duc Phat and Japanese Ambassador Sakaba Mitsuo in Hanoi on May 27.

It was part of Japan’s Hatoyama Initiative (based on a pledge by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to help developing countries on climate change) and the Green Mekong Initiative for Vietnam.

A loan of 18.4 billion JPY (203.2 million USD) to support Vietnam’s socio-economic infrastructure development and environmental protection was also signed on the same day between the Ministry of Finance and the Japan Integration Cooperation Agency.

Some 14 billion JPY (151 million USD) will be used to finance the East-West Corridor project while 4.3 billion JPY (47.8 million USD) will go to a project to improve water in HCM City .

The loan brings the total Japan’s official development assistance committements to Vietnam to 1.4 trillion JPY (1.56 billion USD)./.