Government chief requests Japan's financial backing for Vietnamese infrastructure

At a reception in Hanoi on January 8 for visiting Japanese Minister of Finance Kato Katsunobu and his delegation, the Government chief showed his elation at witnessing the increasingly strong, substantial, and effective development of the bilateral relationship across all fields.

In 2023, the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World. The leaders of the two countries maintain frequent interactions with high political trust.

Japan continues to be Vietnam’s leading economic partner, the largest provider of bilateral loans and ODA, the first partner in labor cooperation, the third largest investor, and the fourth largest trade and tourism partner of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese community in Japan, comprising about 600,000 people, is the second largest foreign community in the East Asian nation.

Locality-to locality cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries are flourishing, while defense and security cooperation has also been strengthened.

Affirming that financial cooperation is a key pillar of the bilateral relationship, PM Chinh highly appreciated Japan’s effective financial support for Vietnam in implementing large-scale infrastructure investment projects with significant impact, such as the Nhat Tan Bridge, T2 terminal at Noi Bai International Airport, and most recently, the officially operational Metro Line 1 in Ho Chi Minh City (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) since the end of December 2024.

The PM mentioned that various restructuring measures have been carried out for the Nghi Son Oil Refinery Project (Thanh Hoa) to improve its operational efficiency, with initial results already being obtained.

He also suggested that the Minister work to encourage greater engagement from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in the project's restructuring, with a focus on balancing interests and sharing risks, so that the project can become a true symbol of effective and mutually beneficial cooperation among all parties.

According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam requires significant funding for development, to implement projects rapidly and efficiently, aiming for at least 8% GDP growth in 2025 and double-digit growth in the following years toward achieving the country’s development goals by 2030 and 2045. Therefore, Vietnam needs the cooperation and support of international partners, including Japan.

The cabinet leader urged Japan to continue providing financial support and promote new generation ODA for Vietnam, in line with the current situation, with favorable interest rates, simplified mechanisms, flexible procedures, and quick implementation to carry out strategic infrastructure projects that bring about transformational change, especially the North-South high-speed railway project, nuclear power, urban railway projects in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, among others.

Additionally, Japan should continue to cooperate in technology transfer, support institutional development, human resource training, and enhance management capacity on a larger scale, at a faster pace, and in a more focused manner, concentrating on several major projects, Chinh told his guest.

Japan should also promote investment and trade cooperation, exchange of key goods between the two sides, local cooperation, and collaboration in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, the exploitation of underground, marine, and space resources.

He thanked the Japanese government for providing scholarships, and training Vietnamese interns, and offering aid to support recovery from the impact of Typhoon No. 3.

He urged continued efforts to step up cooperation in the field of education and training. He also hoped Japan would continue to facilitate the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in Japan, and support Vietnam in infrastructure development projects, disaster risk management, climate change response, and projects under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), and the Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC).

PM Chinh mentioned that Vietnam would prepare a list of specific projects for Japan to study and cooperate on, while boosting the operation of a dedicated task force for cooperation with Japan, contributing to deepening and expanding the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world.

Kato Katsunobu noted appreciation for the Prime Minister’s  significant contributions to the bilateral relationship, affirming that Vietnam is very close to Japan and to him personally. He expressed admiration for Vietnam’s high growth rate and recognized that the country is at a golden demographic stage with many development opportunities.

The Minister assured that Japan would actively support and augment mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of mutual interest, especially the matters the Prime Minister had mentioned.
The Japanese official shared that Japan is continuing to review policies to make them more favorable for foreigners, with Vietnamese nationals currently making up about one-quarter of the total foreign population in Japan and contributing significantly to the country.

He proposed that both sides make greater efforts to resolve obstacles, accelerate ongoing projects, and implement new ones. He affirmed that Japan would continue to report to the Japanese government, consult with businesses on cooperation with Vietnam in strategic infrastructure projects, and discuss the Nghi Son project with JBIC.
On this occasion, PM Chinh extended his regards and an invitation for his counterpart Ishiba Shigeru to visit Vietnam in the time ahead.