Vietnam - Japan sign three ODA projects worth 500 million USD

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Japanese counterpart witnessed the exchange of documents signing three ODA cooperation projects with a total value of 61 billion yen (about 500 million USD) today.

This amount will be allocated by Vietnam for the new generation ODA budget support program for post-Covid-19 socio-economic recovery and development of about 50 billion yen, the remaining 21 billion yen for the project to improve public transport infrastructure in Binh Duong province and the project to improve agricultural development infrastructure in Lam Dong province.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also held talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida today, on the occasion of attending the expanded G7 Summit and working session in Hiroshima, Japan. This is the fifth high-level Vietnam-Japan meeting between the two counterparts in over a year.

Japan is the country that provides the largest ODA concessional loans to Vietnam, with about 2,980 billion yen (21.6 billion USD), including ODA loans, non-refundable aid and technical cooperation support since 1992. Japan's ODA accounts for over 30% of bilateral development aid for Vietnam.

The two Prime Ministers said that in the coming time, the two countries will discuss the possibility of Japan providing new-generation ODA for large-scale strategic infrastructure development projects in Vietnam, such as the North-South high-speed railway, urban railways, climate change response, green transformation and healthcare. These loans will have high incentives, simpler procedures and be more flexible than before.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima on May 21. Photo: Duong Giang — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima on May 21. Photo: *Duong Giang*

Currently, some ODA cooperation projects are behind schedule, such as Cho Ray Hospital 2 and the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien urban railway line No. 1. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said he will direct ministries and branches to accelerate the progress of these projects, ensuring effective investment capital.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Japanese leaders to promote a new wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam in the fields of high technology and renewable energy.

He also proposed that the Japanese government facilitate and simplify visa procedures and move towards visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens, to promote tourism cooperation and create favorable conditions for the community of nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan.

Prime Minister Kishida affirmed that Vietnam has a leading position in implementing Japan's foreign policy in the region.

The two leaders agreed to promote defense and security cooperation and increase economic connectivity between the two countries through increased investment and trade cooperation. The two sides also affirmed to coordinate their stances on issues of mutual concern at multilateral and regional forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, and APEC.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on May 21 in Hiroshima, Japan. Photo: Nhat Bac — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on May 21 in Hiroshima, Japan. Photo: *Nhat Bac*

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the 49th G7 Summit on May 20-21 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. This is the third time Vietnam has attended this summit and the second time at the invitation of Japan. This year, Vietnam is one of two Southeast Asian countries invited by Japan, along with Indonesia.

The G7, comprising advanced industrial nations the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy, plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global structure and governance.

2023 is the year Vietnam and Japan celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. The extensive strategic partnership between the two countries has developed comprehensively in recent times. Japan is the first G7 country to recognize Vietnam's market economy status.

This country is Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner, with total import-export turnover last year reaching nearly 50 billion USD, up from 42.7 billion USD in 2021. In the first three months of this year, the two countries' import-export turnover reached nearly 11 billion USD.

In terms of direct investment, Japan ranks third among 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. By the end of March, Japanese enterprises had invested in 5,050 FDI projects, with a total capital of nearly 70 billion USD.

Hoai Thu

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