Nghe An Provincial leaders work with Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office

On the side of Nghe An province, there was comrade Nguyen Van De - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Also attending were representatives of the leaders of the Departments: Foreign Affairs; Agriculture and Environment; Finance; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Office of the Provincial People's Committee.

At the meeting, on behalf of the provincial leaders, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De was pleased to welcome the JICA delegation to visit and work in Nghe An .

Working scene. Photo: TL

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De informed about the socio -economic development situation of Nghe An province. Accordingly, Nghe An is a province with a natural area of nearly 16,500 km², the 4th largest in the country, with a population of more than 3.4 million people, with 130 communes and wards. The province has an important strategic position, being a bridge between the North and the South, between Vietnam and Laos and the Greater Mekong sub-region.

The infrastructure system is increasingly complete with the North-South Expressway, Cua Lo Port, Vinh International Airport, North-South Railway and 3 international border gates with Laos. With diverse natural conditions, both forests and sea, Nghe An has great potential in developing agriculture, forestry, tourism, energy and logistics.

In recent years, Nghe An's socio-economy has developed quite comprehensively: GRDP in the 2021-2024 period increased by an average of over 8%/year; Budget revenue in 2024 reached over 25,000 billion VND; Investment and business environment has clearly improved; Digital transformation, administrative reform, new rural construction and green, sustainable development have been focused on.

The hosts informed about the cooperation results between the two sides. Photo: TL

Regarding agricultural cooperation between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Japan, Nghe An province is one of the localities that JICA is interested in, supporting many projects of practical significance, including: Project to Restore and Upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System (ending in 2023); Technical Cooperation Project on Nghe An Agricultural Development Planning (ending in 2019); Project to Diversify Livelihoods Based on Heritage Tourism in Agricultural and Fishery Villages (ending in 2018); Project to Restore and Sustainable Management of Protective Forests in Nghe An Province (ending in 2021); Project to Survey and Verify SDGs Business with the Private Sector to Develop the Sanuki Garlic Value Chain in Na Ngoi Commune, Ky Son District (old), which is being effectively implemented.

These projects have made important contributions to agricultural development, resource management, climate change response, improving people's livelihoods and promoting bilateral cooperation between Nghe An and Japan.

Representatives of JICA in Vietnam visited and worked in Nghe An. Photo: TL

On behalf of the leaders of Nghe An province, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee expressed sincere thanks to the Government of Japan, JICA and Mr. Kobayashi Yosuke - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office for their valuable, effective and persistent support over the past time.

Entering the 2026 - 2030 period, Nghe An is determined to continue promoting international cooperation, especially with Japanese partners. The province hopes that JICA and the JICA Vietnam Office will continue to pay attention and accompany Nghe An in various fields.

Representatives of Nghe An province's departments and branches attended the meeting. Photo: TL

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee hopes that JICA will approve the investment study for the Project to Restore and Upgrade the Southern Nghe An Irrigation System, with an estimated total investment of 3,500 billion VND, in the period of 2026 - 2030. Along with that, introduce Japanese enterprises to survey and cooperate in investment in Nghe An, especially in the processing of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, development of supporting industries and renewable energy.

At the same time, support the province in transferring technology and promoting the development of high-tech agriculture, circular agriculture, and low-emission agriculture; Support the construction of a modern early warning and disaster management system, improve the capacity to respond to climate change; Cooperate in digital transformation of the agricultural sector and develop high-quality human resources to serve international integration.

Nghe An provincial leaders presented souvenirs to Mr. Kobayashi Yosuke - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office. Photo: TL

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Kobayashi Yosuke - Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office expressed his joy with the achievements in socio-economic fields that Nghe An province has achieved in recent times, especially the initial results of implementing the operation of the two-level local government.

The Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office assessed Nghe An as one of the key provinces in agricultural cooperation with JICA. JICA projects implemented in the province have achieved certain results, contributing to promoting the local socio-economic development.

At the same time, he said that during this working trip, the Chief Representative of JICA in Vietnam will conduct a field survey of irrigation projects supported by the organization for investment.

The delegation will conduct a field trip to Na Ngoi commune, Nghe An province - where the project "Survey and verification of SDGs business with the private sector to develop the value chain for Sanuki garlic in Nghe An province, Vietnam" is being implemented. Currently, Japanese experts highly appreciate the quality and productivity of garlic on Na Ngoi land and affirm that they will purchase all products from the people after the project enters the mass production stage.