Newly-appointed Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki has said he wishes to further boost official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam and speed up high-quality infrastructure projects to help further foster the country’s economic development.

Ambassador Naoki made the statement in his greeting message posted on the Japanese Embassy’s website on Saturday, after presenting his credentials to Vietnamese Acting State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan on the same day to mark the official start of his four-year term in Vietnam.

Naoki said he had been looking forward to that day since he was appointed ambassador to Vietnam in late March. 

Commenting that the Vietnam-Japan ties are in the best condition following last year’s anniversary of 50 years of diplomatic relations, the diplomat said he was very pleased to serve as ambassador to Vietnam for the further development of the bilateral cooperation.

Reiterating that the two nations upgraded their ties to the ‘comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world' in November 2023, the ambassador said he will work to further strengthen friendly and cooperative relations in various fields to make the actual relationship worthy of the name of the upgraded partnership.

The ODA amount provided by Japan to Vietnam in the last fiscal year exceeded 100 billion yen (US$642.5 million) for the first time since 2017, Ambassador Naoki said in his message.   

Japan’s ODA disbursement rate in Vietnam has recently increased significantly, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Based on the agreement between the leaders of the two countries, the new ambassador said he intended to further promote ODA loans for Vietnam and boost its quality infrastructure development projects to help further bolster economic development of the Southeast Asian country.

Japan is currently Vietnam’s biggest ODA provider, offering more than 2.7 trillion yen ($17.3 billion) in ODA loans for the Southeast Asian country since 1992, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. 

Highlighting economic cooperation as the most important driving force for the Japan-Vietnam ties, Ambassador Naoki said he would listen to Japanese companies operating in Vietnam and do his utmost to contribute to further improving the business environment. 

In addition, as innovation progresses rapidly on a global scale, he said he would like to join Vietnamese partners to foster cooperation in new fields such as digital transformation and green transformation.

At the meeting with Acting President Xuan after the credential presentation ceremony, Naoki said the Japanese government supports Vietnam in achieving its goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 with ODA loans as well as with expanded cooperation in the fields that are strengths of both sides, according to VNA. 

He expressed his hope that Vietnam will continue improving the business and investment environment and facilitating Japanese enterprises’ operation in the country. 

Acting State President Xuan suggested that Japan give continued support for Vietnam's industrialization and modernization process and provide new generation ODA loans for the country in the fields of strategic infrastructure development, healthcare and climate change response.

She also recommended promotion of cooperation in new fields such as semiconductors, digital transformation, green transition, and net zero emission.

The Vietnamese leader affirmed that Vietnam considers Japan to be a top and long-term important partner, and that all Vietnamese agencies and localities will create favorable conditions for the new ambassador to successfully fulfill his duties.

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