Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday the Foreign Ministry should have sole oversight of a planned entity that would integrate the three official development assistance operations -- grants, technical cooperation and yen loans.
Asked about under whose jurisdiction the new Japan International Cooperation Agency should be placed, Aso told a news conference, "That would be the Foreign Ministry," rejecting an idea within the government that the Foreign Ministry, Finance Ministry, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry should have joint management. The Foreign Ministry sees ODA as an important diplomatic tool.
Currently, it is in charge of grants in aid and manages the work of the current JICA to provide technical cooperation, while the three ministries jointly oversee the yen-loan operation of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
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