On the night of May 21, the plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation landed at Noi Bai airport, concluding the working trip to attend the expanded G7 Summit and work in Hiroshima (Japan) from May 19-21, which was a great success in both multilateral and bilateral aspects.

Responding to the press about the results of the Prime Minister's working trip, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that in less than 3 days, the Prime Minister chaired and attended about 40 activities.

In addition to the agenda within the framework of the expanded G7 Summit, the Prime Minister had many rich, effective and substantive activities with Japanese leaders as well as leaders of other countries and international organizations... contributing to further deepening relations with partners.

The Prime Minister had 13 meetings, including talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio; receiving the Governor and Chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Council; receiving members of the National Assembly with constituencies in Hiroshima; meeting with friendship associations with Vietnam, leaders of large Japanese associations and corporations; attending and speaking at the Vietnam-Japan Business Forum...

These meetings all achieved many important results, including the two leaders agreeing to make efforts to bring the Vietnam-Japan Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia to new heights, especially in 2023 – the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

Promoting a new wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam

An important highlight is that through the meetings and contacts of the Prime Minister, Japanese enterprises expressed their desire to increase investment and expand production and business in Vietnam.

The spirit of “harmonized benefits, shared risks” and the commitment that “the Vietnamese Government always listens and understands” conveyed by the Prime Minister to Japanese enterprises has created more trust and promoted a new wave of investment from this country in Vietnam.

Japanese investors assess that Vietnam is the region's leading dynamic economy, developing rapidly with an abundant and increasingly qualified workforce, and an increasingly improved investment and business environment.

With the support of the Government, ministries, sectors and localities, many Japanese investors said that Vietnam has become their most important production and business base. Many attractive investment promises and commitments to Vietnam have been made by businesses.

Specifically, Congressman Kobayashi Fumiaki said he will continue to lead business delegations to Vietnam for cooperation in the near future.

Mr. Akio Yoshida - Executive Chairman of AEON Group committed to develop about 20 shopping malls in Vietnam, focusing on supermarket and entertainment business. This group also expanded the import of Vietnamese goods for distribution in more than 20,000 shopping malls in Japan.

Mr. Fujimoto Masayoshi, General Director of Sojitz Group, said that about 70 businesses are exploring the possibility of Sojitz opening more industrial parks in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister's proposals on enhancing cooperation and investment in the fields of high-tech industry, supporting industry, electronic components, electric cars; science and technology, innovation, research and development; green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy... were also welcomed by Japanese enterprises.

In particular, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's meetings with Japanese business leaders have strengthened investors' confidence and resolved many specific difficulties and problems in projects.

Including removing difficulties of Nghi Son Oil Refinery project, promoting the progress of some ODA cooperation projects such as Cho Ray Hospital 2, the project to build urban railway line No. 1 Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien in Ho Chi Minh City...

500 million USD for new generation ODA projects

A notable highlight of the Prime Minister's working trip to Japan this time is that Vietnam and Japan have achieved some substantial results in the field of ODA and investment cooperation with the signing of three ODA cooperation documents worth 61 billion Yen (about 500 million USD).

This capital is for new-generation ODA program projects to restore and develop the post-Covid-19 socio-economy; projects to improve public transport infrastructure in Binh Duong province, and projects to improve agricultural development infrastructure in Lam Dong province.

The leaders of the two countries also agreed to promote the possibility of Japan providing new-generation ODA with high incentives and simple and flexible procedures for large-scale strategic infrastructure development projects in Vietnam.

“It can be said that new-generation ODA cooperation, especially in the field of strategic infrastructure and promoting economic and trade cooperation, will be the key orientations of the two countries' extensive strategic partnership in the new period,” Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang acknowledged that through bilateral meetings, the Prime Minister's meetings have helped Vietnam promote cooperation in socio-economic development, investment and trade.

The Minister of Transport expressed his belief that after this working trip, Vietnam and the G7 and expanded G7 countries will have opportunities to cooperate, bringing socio-economic benefits, helping countries overcome all challenges through multilateral cooperation.

Referring to the ODA capital of about 500 million USD that Japan has just signed to provide to Vietnam, Minister Nguyen Van Thang said that in addition to budget capital and private capital from enterprises, this ODA capital is very necessary.

In particular, Vietnam proposed that Japan continue to provide Vietnam with ODA capital to develop infrastructure, especially strategic infrastructure such as highways, the North-South high-speed railway, and the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho railway.

However, he also noted that it is important to mobilize ODA capital with special incentives to be effective.

“Mobilizing ODA capital during this period to serve a number of transport infrastructure projects will ease the burden on the national budget in the context that we have many goals and tasks that require budget use,” said the Minister of Transport.

Talking about the effectiveness of using ODA capital in the coming time, Mr. Thang said: "When using ODA capital, what we worry about most is the complicated procedures that make the project last longer."

Because this can turn ODA capital from preferential interest rate loans into high interest rate loans, if we do not reduce the time.

However, the Minister also affirmed that he will be determined in directing the total investment to be appropriate, not to incur additional costs or prolong the time.