Framework Agreement signing ceremony between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Korea

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung and Ambassador Lee Hyuk at the Signing Ceremony. Photo: Duc Trung (MPI)

Attending the signing ceremony were representatives of relevant agencies of the two countries. On the Vietnamese side, there were representatives from the Government Office, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance, Transport, Health, and Public Security. On the Korean side, there are representatives from the Korean Embassy in Vietnam and the Korean Export-Import Bank Office in Vietnam.

Speaking at the Signing Ceremony, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized the contributions and significance of the ODA credits that the Korean Government has provided to Vietnam over the past two decades, all in important and priority areas of Vietnam, and highly appreciated the fact that the Korean Government always considers Vietnam a top priority partner in providing official development assistance. The framework credit agreement for the period 2016-2020 is the next step in the development cooperation relationship between the two countries, promising to contribute positively to Vietnam's socio-economic development in the coming time.

At the Signing Ceremony, Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk continued to affirm the Korean Government's support for Vietnam and pledged to work closely with relevant Vietnamese agencies to concretize the Framework Credit Agreement for the period 2016-2020.

The 2016-2020 Framework Credit Agreement includes 10 articles, stipulating that the Korean Government provides the Vietnamese Government with ODA credit worth 1.5 billion USD in the period 2016-2020 along with a number of accompanying basic conditions. This credit will be used to finance projects selected by the Governments of the two countries. The framework credit agreement for the period 2016-2020 includes contents and regulations on loan size and conditions; Process of exchange, signing, implementation and disbursement of projects; Incentives from the Vietnamese side for projects using Korean ODA loans and EDCF representative offices in Vietnam. The signing of the 2016-2020 Framework Credit Agreement aims to create a legal framework for the Korean side to provide ODA loans to Vietnam and to protectVietnam received ODA loans from Korea, and created a basis for the two sides to select and implement projects using EDCF capital in the period 2016-2020.

ODA loans from the Korean Government are provided to Vietnam through EDCF. The basis for selecting and implementing projects using EDCF capital is through the Framework Credit Agreement for each stage. The most recent framework credit agreement for the period 2012-2015 has basically been completed by both sides. From 1993 until now, Korea has provided Vietnam with 2.7 billion USD in ODA loans to implement about 60 projects. The areas of mutual interest and priority for using EDCF capital to implement are projects on transport infrastructure, urban areas, healthcare, water supply and drainage, etc. These are all infrastructure areas prioritized by Vietnam and of great significance to socio-economic development in Vietnam./.