During his meeting with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Tanaka Akihiko in Tokyo on December 18, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that Japan provide Vietnam with new-generation official development assistance (ODA) loans with more preferential terms for five priority areas, according to a report from the Government News.

The meeting took place as part of the Prime Minister’s trip to Japan to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

The five priority areas are: (1) strategic infrastructure development; (2) newly-emerging fields like digital transformation, green growth, climate change response, new energy, and semiconductor chips; (3) human resources training and labor cooperation; (4) healthcare and education; and (5) environmental protection and living standard improvements.

Earlier, on December 16, Prime Minister Chinh and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio also met, during which the former suggested that Japan continue the 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 parks, climate change adaptation, digital transformation, green transition, and healthcare.

The two Prime Ministers also witnessed the exchange of cooperative documents between the two countries, which involved a Ho Chi Minh City metro line, the Japan Development Scholarship (JDS) project, and the equipment supply project for Vietnam’s K Hospital, with a total sum of JPY42.3 billion ($296 million).

Ho Chi Minh City’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 the downtown area to Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc city.

The line is now 97 per cent completed after many delays since work began in 2012. At a total cost of an estimated VND43.7 trillion ($1.85 billion), it will include three underground stations and eleven aboveground stations.

The project is expected to be finished this year and begin commercial operations in 2024.

Japan is Vietnam’s top ODA donor. According to cumulative figures compiled by Vietnam Economic Times, as of 2022, Japan had provided Vietnam with a total of JPY2.9 trillion ($19.55 billion) in ODA, including JPY2.7 trillion ($18.2 billion) in ODA loans.