TANAKA Akihiko

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang pose for a photograph after their talks.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka visited Vietnam Aug. 25-28, meeting with the president, prime minister and other dignitaries, and conducted site surveys on projects supported by JICA.

The visit came during the 40th year of Japan-Vietnam diplomatic relations.

Tanaka told President Truong Tan Sang Vietnam is an important partner for Japan, with the two countries facing common regional issues and in an economically complementary relationship. He also said that to help Vietnam achieve its national objective of becoming an industrial nation by 2020, JICA will continue balanced and wide-ranging cooperation in three priority areas: growth and strengthening competitiveness, responding to vulnerabilities and reinforcing governance.

President Sang thanked Tanaka for Japan's assistance to Vietnam and said he hopes that through such personal exchanges as training of personnel and the dispatch of experts, the two countries can build multilayered interpersonal relationships. He also said he expects further official development assistance (ODA) in the fields of higher education and public-private partnerships.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hold talks.

In talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Tanaka said JICA will expedite its cooperation for reforms in various sectors such as state-owned enterprises.

Dung explained Vietnam’s economic policies aimed at controlling inflation and stabilizing its macro-economy. Dung also expressed his hopes for cooperation from Japan in the field of medical care.

Tanaka also met with Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, and they exchanged opinions on JICA's cooperation.

In his site-surveys, Tanaka visited such project sites as Terminal 2 Construction Project in Noi Bai International Airport and Bach Mai Hospital. He also talked with JICA experts in the fields of agriculture and legislation, as well as with volunteers teaching the Japanese language and engaged in rural development. In so doing, Tanaka confirmed that Japan's ODA is contributing to Vietnam's socioeconomic development.

On Aug. 28, using the East–West Economic Corridor (which JICA contributed to and which connects Vietnam, Laos and northeast Thailand), Tanaka traveled on land from Hue, Vietnam, to Savannakhet province in Laos to check infrastructure supporting economic growth of the Mekong sub-region.