The Japanese government will provide aid to middle-income countries.

The Japanese government has decided to establish a new aid framework for countries whose gross national income per capita (GNI) is higher than the current official development assistance (ODA) threshold.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends the CARICOM conference. (Source: EFE)

This information was revealed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a summit meeting with leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on July 28.

According to calculations, this aid framework will be applied to newly developing countries that are still facing difficulties in areas such as disaster prevention and mitigation, and weak basic manufacturing sectors. The funding for this aid framework is expected to be calculated by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and included in the budget estimates starting from fiscal year 2015.

In addition to island nations in the Caribbean, Japan will also provide this aid to countries such as Türkiye, Malaysia, Brazil, and other countries that will exceed their ODA receiving thresholds in the near future.

Currently, Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) is only available to countries with a GNI below $12,000.

Similar to the technical cooperation funding Tokyo provided to Gulf countries for training technical personnel, the new aid fund is seen as a tool for Japan to strengthen ties and relations with countries that have emerged from poverty, and to garner their support on international issues such as reforming the structure of the UN Security Council and reducing emissions.

According to Vietnam+