JICA-RI was established on October 1, 2008, when the new JICA was launched as a result of merger of two existing institutions; former JICA which had been executing mainly technical cooperation and grant aid projects, and apart of JBIC (the Japan Bank for International Cooperation), which had been in charge of concessional yen loans. JICA-RI supersedes and strengthens the research capabilities of the former JICA and JBIC.
