TOKYO: A panel of Japan’s Foreign Ministry on Friday started discussing concrete measures to better utilize private-sector funds for official development assistance.

The ministry aims to use its ODA budget to encourage private projects that strongly support development in developing countries. The panel will draw up a proposal and submit it to Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko in summer.

Chaired by ONO Izumi, professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, the panel consists of 10 experts including those with know-how on international cooperation.

Kamikawa attended the first meeting of the panel held Friday. She said that “private-sector companies are becoming more active in efforts to realize a sustainable society.”

“We’ll explore ways to mobilize private funds by using ODA as a catalyst,” she added.

In its Development Cooperation Charter adopted in June 2023, the government said it will expand the country’s ODA in various ways including by using private funds.

Japan’s ODA budget has declined since the fiscal 1997 peak of 1,168.7 billion yen, standing at 570.9 billion yen in fiscal 2023.

JIJI Press