Japan will not suspend its official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, a Vietnamese official has reported.

The statement by Deputy Director of the Ministry of Planning andInvestment’s Department for Foreign Economic Relations, Nguyen XuanTien, has quelled fears that erupted after bribery allegationsconcerning a Japanese-funded Hanoi urban railway project were revealedthree months ago.

Japan will approve new ODA projects afterVietnam commits to launching an in-depth investigation into the case,seriously punishing all those involved, and coming up with plans for allpossible contingencies, he said.

To utilise ODA packages tothe full, the ministry will issue a code of conduct in tender and apilot regulation for third parties bidding for Japanese ODA projects.

It will also outline a set of procedures to inspect all ODAcontracts in general, and others funded by Japan in particular, and worktogether with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to reexamineseveral bidding packages of some Japanese ODA projects.

Allpossible constructive changes will be made to investment, corporate andtender laws which will come into force on July 1.

The Law onPublic Investment will be ratified by the National Assembly soon,making tender process and corporate finance more transparent.

Both Vietnamese and Japanese sides are working together on the alleged bribery case, with suspects held in custody.-VNA