Viet Nam seeks Japan’s more preferential ODA for five priority areas
VGP - Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested Japan provide Viet Nam with new-generation official development assistance (ODA) loans with more preferential terms for five priority areas.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and JICA President Tanaka Akihiko, Tokyo, December 18, 2023 - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
The Vietnamese Government chief made the proposal during a reception for JICA President Tanaka Akihiko in Tokyo, Japan on December 18 on the occasion of the former’s Japan trip to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.
The five priority areas, as Prime Minister Pham said, are: (i) strategic infrastructure development; (ii) newly emerging fields like digital transformation, green growth, climate change response, new energy and semiconductor chip; (iii) manpower traning, labor coopeation; (iv) healthcare and education; (v) environmental protection and living standard improvement.
Earlier on December 16, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio had summit meeting, during which the former suggested Japan continue provision of new-generation ODA loans for strategic infrastructure projects, such as the North-South high-speed railway project, metro line projects, supporting industries, new industrial zones, climate change adaptation, digital transformation, green transition, and health care.
The two pair also witnessed witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between the two countries, which involved the HCMC's metro line, the Japan Development Scholarship (JDS) project, and the equipment supply project for Viet Nam’s K Hospital with a total sum of JPY42.3 billion.
HCMC's metro line No. 1, also known as the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien line, is to run 19.7 km between Ben Thanh Market in downtown HCMC to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City.
The line now has 97 percent completed after many delays since work started in 2012. At a total cost of over VND43.7 trillion (US$1.85 billion), it will include three underground stations and 11 elevated ones.
The project is expected to be finished this year and begin commercial operations in 2024.
Japan is Viet Nam's top ODA partner. By the end of the 2020 fiscal year, the East Asian country had lent a total of JPY2,821.2 billion ($27.5 billion) in ODA to ./.
