The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening partnerships in ODA-loan-financed projects with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in the Philippines. This is the first MOU of its kind that JBIC has signed with an overseas academic institution.

The MOU stipulates that, for JBIC-financed projects in the Philippines, JBIC and AIM will work jointly with the government of the Philippines on evaluation and on strengthening the capacity of government agencies and NGOs for the operation and maintenance of projects.

They will hold joint studies and seminars to ensure effective project implementation. These cooperative activities are expected to benefit not only ODA projects, but all development projects undertaken by the Philippine government.

With a mission to contribute to sustainable growth, AIM is a high profile Asian academic institution. It specialises in general management, and has its own research institute focusing on policy and governance.

JBIC’s Medium-Term Strategy for Overseas Economic Cooperation Operations states that ‘development partnerships” both raise the effectiveness of Japanese ODA loans by drawing on the experience available within and outside the recipient country and improve their efficiency in terms of external resource use.

With the Millennium Development Goals, the international community set numerical targets for poverty reduction and access to safe water. In order to achieve these, it is important that developing countries evaluate and improve on their own development policies and projects. JBIC will continue its efforts to increase the effectiveness of ODA loan-financed projects through the strengthening of capacity on the part of host country government organisations.