Japan mulling ODA policy shift

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FE Report
Japan, one of the major donors of the country, is likely to shift its focus from infrastructure development to social sector in countries receiving its official development assistance (ODA), sources said.
Under the planned strategy, Japan is planning to provide ODA in areas such as health care, child mortality, sanitation and environment, instead of power and infrastructure projects, officials in the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said.
The information relating to the change in ODA policy of Japan has recently been conveyed to the ERD by the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo has expressed the fear that the ODA flow from Japan to Bangladesh might decline in coming years because of its policy shift.
Meanwhile, the ERD has requested Japan Embassy in Dhaka not to change their ODA policy as far as Bangladesh is concerned since the country is now in dire need of foreign fund to develop its infrastructures.
"We have requested Japan not to discontinue or shrink their support to our infrastructure sector as the incumbent government is committed to constructing a good number of development projects including that of Padma Bridge,' a top ERD official told the FE.