MoF and JICA discuss expanded development cooperation

MoF and JICA discuss expanded development cooperation

On November 10, as part of the official visit to Japan by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan and a delegation from the Ministry of Finance held bilateral talks with Tanaka Akihiko, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan and Tanaka Akihiko, president of JICA. Photo: Thu Tra

This marked the second high-level meeting in 2026 between the leadership of Vietnam's MoF and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), demonstrating political commitment to elevating financial and economic development cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Ngo Van Tuan outlined Vietnam's goals of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle-income status by 2030, and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

To achieve these targets, Vietnam's investment capital requirements for 2026-2030 are expected to be more than 2.2 times those of 2021-2025. Against this backdrop, the minister called on the Japanese government, through JICA, to continue providing financial support for Vietnam's essential infrastructure projects.

Minister Tuan also briefed JICA on the positive results Vietnam had achieved in streamlining its organisational structure and accelerating decentralisation and delegation of authority, accompanied by greater accountability among agencies and local authorities.

Reviewing cooperation over the past six months, since JICA president Tanaka Akihiko's visit to Vietnam in June, the minister and the JICA president acknowledged positive progress in boosting official development assistance (ODA) cooperation, particularly the effectiveness of the tripartite task force comprising the MoF, the Embassy of Japan, and JICA in Vietnam.

Through this coordination mechanism, a number of obstacles affecting the implementation of Japanese ODA-funded projects have gradually been addressed. These include Ho Chi Minh City's Urban Railway Line No.1 and projects supplying equipment financed by Japanese grant aid.

Negotiations and the signing of loan and grant agreements for new programmes and projects have also delivered positive results.

Three important ODA documents: the Exchange of Notes for the Vietnam Japan University Project, the Loan Agreement for the O Mon 3 Thermal Power Plant Project, and the Agreement to Facilitate Japanese Grant Aid Projects, were signed and exchanged in the presence of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae on November 9.

Photo: Thu Tra

JICA president Tanaka Akihiko recalled the commitments made by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to usher Vietnam-Japan relations into a new phase of more substantive cooperation.

Akihiko said he appreciated the proactive role played by Vietnam's MoF in operating the tripartite task force. He also called on the two sides to work together to resolve outstanding payments to contractors involved in Ho Chi Minh City's Urban Railway Line No.1, enabling the entire project to enter stable commercial operation as soon as possible.

The JICA president outlined opportunities to expand cooperation into new strategic fields. Alongside traditional infrastructure, Japan seeks to strengthen collaboration in human resource training, AI, science and technology, and semiconductor technology.

Akihiko noted that combining the strengths of Japan's leading technology corporations with the potential of Vietnam's young and dynamic workforce would generate significant synergies in AI and semiconductors, directly contributing to the national competitiveness of both countries.

Discussing future cooperation, Minister Tuan called on JICA to work closely with the MoF to explore ways to harmonise negotiations and procedures and shorten project preparation times.

Streamlining ODA management procedures would not only improve the effectiveness of public borrowing and the mobilisation and utilisation of financial resources, but also ensure that projects are implemented on schedule, meeting Vietnam's urgent requirements for socioeconomic development.

The minister and JICA president expressed confidence that Vietnam-Japan development cooperation would continue to be strengthened and expanded, remaining one of the key pillars of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in their new development stage.

VIR