Hanoi’s leaders had a working session with visiting Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Hiroshige Seko on September 14.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai (R) presents a gift to Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko at their meeting on September 14 

Hoang Trung Hai, Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, expressed his delight to see the thriving and close-knit relations between the two countries and between Japan and Hanoi.

Currently, Hanoi has 32 projects using over 2.9 billion USD in ODA loaned from the Japanese Government. Many large and small projects invested by Japanese investors have contributed to creating changes in Hanoi, he said.

He informed guest that the city will launch 10 urban railway projects with an estimated investment of 40 billion USD, expecting to get Japanese loans for the effort.

In addition to that, Hanoi is seeking support for the training of officials in charge of these projects, together with experience in carrying out Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, Hai noted.

He expressed his hope that the visiting Minister will continue paying attention to stepping up the comprehensive cooperation, especially in economics, trade and industry, between Hanoi and Japan.

[Japan company helps Hanoi operate urban railway system]

The Japanese Minister noted that many cooperation agreements, including those for Hanoi, have been signed during recent visits of the two countries, and that his visit looks to materialize these agreements.

He affirmed that the Japanese Government wishes to enhance cooperative ties with Vietnam and Hanoi, particularly in urban infrastructure, metropolis railways, culture, the environment and tourism, and more.

Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said Hanoi is growing robustly in terms of urban areas and it needs a large amount of investment for the construction of urban and railway infrastructure.

He expected that Japan would speed up its lending of capital so the city can launch the Nam Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao metropolis railway No. 2, which faced a standstill for almost four years. 

VNA