The battle between the Foreign and Finance ministries over official development assistance outlays for fiscal 2007 ended in a draw Wednesday as the Finance Ministry proposed a 4 percent cut in ODA spending in a draft budget, while much of that reduction was made up for in a supplementary budget the government adopted the same day.
The Finance Ministry revealed its draft for fiscal 2007, including an ODA allocation of 729.3 billion yen, down 30.4 billion yen, or 4.0 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year.
The regular ODA budget to be finalized later this month will decline for the eighth straight year since fiscal 2000 if it is passed.
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