Vietnam, Japan should accelerate implementation of ODA projects: Deputy PM

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on August 23 said he supports Vietnamese agencies and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to hold regular meetings, seeking solutions to obstacles to ODA projects in Vietnam.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) and JICA Executive Senior Vice President Junichi Yamada (Photo: VNA)
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) and JICA Executive Senior Vice President Junichi Yamada (Photo: VNA)

At a reception for JICA Executive Senior Vice President Junichi Yamada in Hanoi, Minh noted with pleasure the strong developments of the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.

Japan is always Vietnam’s leading strategic partner in ODA, accounting for 30% of the about 29.3 billion USD committed by foreign investors for the Southeast Asian nation, he continued.

Minh thanked the Japanese Government and people for their assistance over the past nearly three decades which has significantly contributed to spurring socio-economic development in Vietnam.

He also lauded the role and contributions by JICA and Yamada himself in the implementation of ODA projects in Vietnam, and called on Japan to continue with this kind of assistance, especially new-generation ODA, as agreed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has held working sessions with the Japanese Embassy to seek loans from the Japanese Government for the socio-economic recovery and development programme in Vietnam, with a focus on strategic infrastructure, transport infrastructure, digital transformation, climate change response, and health care, Minh said, asking the ministry to closely coordinate with JICA in the effort.

VNA