The European Union (EU) has committed EUR542 million (US$736 million) in official development assistance to Vietnam this year, and the level of aid would also be maintained for the coming years.

The information was announced by Dr Franz Jessen, Ambassador-Head of the Delegation of the EU to Vietnam, at a ceremony on June 25 to launch the Blue Book 2014, an annual report on the EU development cooperation in Vietnam.

The EU would also sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Vietnam before the end of this year as a way of supporting the country to develop its trade ambitions and international commitments. The FTA negotiations are expected to be concluded by autumn this year.

The EU has remained the leading provider of development assistance to Vietnam, with a total of US$619.8 million of disbursement in 2013, he said.

The ambassador said the organization had met some barriers accessing relevant authorities and sectors and solving disbursement procedures, so the disbursement figure was low compared to the pledged aid.

Apart from giving non-refundable aid to Vietnam, the EU focuses on commercial cooperation with the country to help it stabilise the economy. He said that the tense standoff between China and Vietnam on the East Sea and the Japanese Government’s decision to halt ODA to Vietnam due to alleged bribery on railway projects would not affect the EU’s aid to Vietnam in the next year.

The EU has been Vietnam’s largest trade partner in recent years, with the country’s export turnover to the EU reaching US$ 25 billion last year.

This year, the EU has focused on eradicating poverty among ethnic minorities, which was featured in the Blue Book 2014.

Although important progress has been achieved in reducing poverty among ethnic minorities, the percentage of poor people is still much higher than rest of the nation.

The book included some of the challenges Vietnamese Government faces, and suggestions to overcome them.

In 2013, the EU and its members disbursed EUR56.5 billion (US$76.8 billion) globally as the world’s largest ODA provider, despite being seriously affected by the economic crisis.

VNA/VNN