Message from the Chief Representative

Xin Chao Vietnam, my name is SUGANO Yuichi, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - Vietnam Office, from March 1st, 2023.

This is my second assignment to Vietnam, while my first assignment here was more than 20 years ago, from 1999 to 2002. At that time, I was in charge of technical cooperation projects in the field of transportation and urban development.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to undertake this position this time as 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, which is the biggest commemoration ever along with the 30th anniversary of Japan's ODA cooperation in Vietnam in 2022. These are the significant milestones that demonstrate the two countries' strong relationship as well as the ODA's contribution to the development of Vietnam.

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JICA is in charge of implementing the Japanese Government's Official Development Assistance (ODA), and the Vietnam Office is one of JICA's top five largest overseas offices with more than 100 projects being implemented in various sectors, including education, health, transportation, energy, agriculture, and so on.

As the Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, I would like to share with you our plan of cooperation in Vietnam in the coming time:

The economy of Vietnam is in the process of recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of infrastructure is extremely important for economic growth after the recovery. JICA has been providing consistent and coherent cooperation for development work from the stage of master plan preparation to the stage of hardware construction with a medium-to-long-term perspective, and we intend to continue this cooperation in the future.

In parallel, we will also cooperate for the development of human resources to ensure the efficient and effective operation as well as maintenance of the infrastructure that has been developed.

At the same time, it is important to minimize the number of people who are left out of the benefits of economic growth. For this, we would like to work extensively on rural development, health, education, and other areas that directly benefit the people of Vietnam.

In addition, many of Japan's private companies, local governments, and NGO/NPOs are highly interested in Vietnam. In this connection, JICA has offered cooperation menus that fully utilize the experience, knowledge, and technology of not only government agencies but also these organizations for the development of Vietnam, and we would like to create opportunities for many people from Japan to play an active role in this development.

On the way from Noi Bai airport to JICA Vietnam office in Hanoi, I realized significant changes through not only crossing beautiful Nhat Tan bridge but also seeing many cars and motorbikes occupying the roads that make me feel full of vigor in regards to the potential of this country. I believe that the combination of Japanese knowledge and, experience along with Vietnamese dynamism and, great potential will surely promote the sustainable growth of both countries as well as ASEAN.

JICA will continue working on realizing Vietnam's long-term development goals with close collaboration with Vietnamese counterparts and I, myself will strive to enhance those partnerships as a Chief Representative.

Xin cam on!

SUGANO Yuichi
Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office