Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang receives JICA Vice President

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang received Senior Executive Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Yamada Junichi - Photo: VGP/Hai Minh

At the reception, the Deputy Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Yamada Junichi to visit Vietnam and attend the kick-off meeting of the "Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative in the New Era, Phase 1", organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in coordination with the Japan Economic Organization Federation (KEIDANREN) and the Embassy of Japan, opening up new cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

The Deputy Prime Minister informed the JICA Vice President about the national budget management mechanism as well as Vietnam's recent efforts in removing difficulties and obstacles and speeding up the progress of projects using Japanese ODA capital.

The Vice President of JICA said that in recent times, the disbursement rate of Japanese ODA capital has increased significantly; the slow and late rate is about 1.8 billion Yen, much less than in previous years thanks to the close direction of the Vietnamese Government.

JICA proposed that both sides consider the possibility of borrowing ODA capital in the form of financial assistance so that Vietnam can integrate it into the budget. However, with this form of loan, the interest rate is about 1.8% instead of 0.01% as for other loans.

JICA affirmed its readiness to discuss with Vietnam the implementation of 11 local infrastructure development projects, including considering the possibility of these projects being bid domestically instead of internationally competitively to shorten investment preparation time.

JICA also proposed that Vietnam build a separate legal framework for additional loans outside the medium-term budget plan from JICA as well as other donors such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, etc.

Welcoming JICA's proposals, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that both sides consider and discuss the interest rate and each specific project to find the most suitable one.

Both sides affirmed that they will closely coordinate in removing difficulties and obstacles in each project, including tax issues for Japanese contractors implementing ODA projects, to promote the progress of some projects that are behind schedule, especially the Cho Ray Hospital 2 project and the Vietnam-Japan University project.

Japan is Vietnam's largest ODA provider. Since 1992, the land of the rising sun has provided Vietnam with over 2,700 billion yen in ODA loans, nearly 100 billion yen in non-refundable aid, and nearly 180 billion yen in technical assistance. Japan's ODA accounts for over 30% of bilateral development aid for Vietnam.

In 2023, Japan's total ODA capital for Vietnam will reach more than 100 billion Yen, the highest level since 2017./.

Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/pho-thu-tuong-tran-luu-quang-tiep-pho-chu-tich-jica-372261.html