Japan to give Mekong countries $115 mln for Covid-19 fight, sustainable development

Vietnam and four other countries in the Mekong region will receive Japanese aid worth $115.3 million to combat Covid-19 and work for sustainable development.

Japan announced the decision at the 13th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held online on Thursday and co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu, a press release by the Vietnamese foreign ministry said.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand will get $106 million to buy medical equipment, train medical personnel and increase their capability to fight the pandemic.

Japan will also give them loans for undertaking emergency responses to the disease and deploy the Kusanone Mekong Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiative, with a non-refundable component of ¥1 billion ($9.3 million).

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Viet Anh