On the morning of March 27, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong had a working session with Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) Hong Soon-young. The meeting aimed to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of ODA loans and discuss development investment projects in Vietnam.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong said that the Ministry of Finance always acknowledges and highly appreciates the support of the Korean Government in general and KEXIM Bank, as the manager of the EDCS Fund, which has promoted the effectiveness of implementing development investment projects in Vietnam.
Currently, Korea is Vietnam's second largest bilateral sponsor in Asia with loans through the EDCSF. As the Agency of the Korean Government managing the EDCS Fund, KEXIM Bank has promoted the effective implementation of development investment projects in all fields of transportation, healthcare, environment... in Vietnam.
Thanking Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong for his sharing, Vice President of KEXIM Bank Hong Soon-young emphasized that Vietnam is the number one priority country of Korea and South Korea is always ready to cooperate with Vietnam in providing ODA loans that contribute to Vietnam's socio-economic development.
Vice President Hong Soon-young also expressed his desire to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to organize a meeting on ODA policy dialogue for Vietnam - Korea loans before the high-level conference between the two countries will take place at the end of this year. It is expected that this meeting will discuss opinions between agencies of the two countries on the implementation of programs and projects using ODA loans in Korea, as well as the orientations and policies for using ODA loans in Korea of the Government of Vietnam.
In response to Mr. Hong Soon-young's wishes, Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong expressed his agreement with this proposal. At the same time, the Deputy Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Finance will continue to closely follow the projects that the two sides are cooperating with: Investment project to build a road from the center of Tuyen Quang city to My Lam mineral spring tourist area in Tuyen Quang province; Ring Road 3 project, Tan Van - Nhon Trach section; Project 03 on bridge on DT.827E ( bridge over Can Giuoc river, Vam Co Dong river and Vam Co Tay river) in Long An expected to be implemented in 2026...
According to Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong, South Korea is a very important strategic partner of Vietnam, not only in the state sector but also in the private sector. Therefore, enhancing cooperation in developing ODA with South Korea is one of the priorities of the Vietnamese Government. In particular, Korean loans often have many incentives and conditions suitable for Vietnam. The process and procedures between the two sides are quite similar, so they are implemented quickly. This is a favorable factor for the two sides to strengthen ODA cooperation Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Phuong emphasized.
To date, the Ministry of Finance and KEXIM Bank have signed 65 Agreements with a total funding value of nearly 3 billion USD within the framework of EDCSFs over many periods.
In particular, projects using EDCSF capital signed in the period of 2020-2024 with a total value of about 882.14 billion KRW (equivalent to about 620 million USD) are being implemented such as: health projects in Ha Tinh and Binh Dinh provinces; projects in the transport sector such as Renovation of Hoa Duyet Thanh Luyen Railway, Renovation of weak bridges on National Highway 1, Renovation of railway in Khe Net Pass area, Central region linkage of Quang Nam province, Tan Van - Nhon Trach Ring Road, Traffic and irrigation connection of Hoa Binh province, My An - Cao Lanh Expressway.
Most recently, the Framework Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of South Korea on loans from the EDCS Fund for the period 2024 - 2030 worth 2 billion USD was signed on December 29, 2023.
