Medical staff operating medical equipment provided by JICA to provide treatment for patients at Hue Central Hospital. (Source: JICA)

While it would be impossible to cover all of them here, I would like to highlight several representative examples.

The first area I would like to mention is healthcare cooperation. On a personal note, I assumed my current position as the 12th Chief Representative of the JICA Vietnam Office in April 2025.

Prior to that, I worked at the same office from November 2005 to October 2009 as a Representative responsible for projects in the health sector and the legal and judicial sector.

One of the projects I managed during that period was JICA's cooperation with Hue Central Hospital, aimed at strengthening both its physical infrastructure and institutional capacity, while enhancing the capabilities of provincial hospitals throughout Central Vietnam.

Established in 1894 during the Nguyen Dynasty, Hue Central Hospital is a historic institution and was recognized as Vietnam's first Western-style hospital. However, due to inefficient facility layouts and deteriorating medical equipment, the hospital faced significant challenges in coping with the growing number of patients. (If you are a movie fan, you can find one of the former buildings in some scenes from The Girl on the River (Cô gái trên sông), directed by Dang Nhat Minh and released in 1987. Dr. Phu, who would later become the Hospital Director, also appears in the film.)

Mr. Kobayashi Yosuke, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Vietnam Office. (Source: JICA)

To address these issues, the Government of Japan and JICA provided grant assistance for the construction of a Central Medical Building, an Outpatient Building, and Utility Building, as well as the provision of medical equipment. These investments significantly improved the hospital's operational efficiency, reduced patient waiting times and travel distances within the hospital and contributed to a substantial increase in the number of surgeries performed annually.

Alongside this infrastructure support, JICA also implemented technical cooperation programs focusing on patient-centered care, infection control, medical equipment management, and hospital administration. Through these efforts, Hue Central Hospital strengthened its own capacity while also improving the quality of training provided to 14 provincial hospitals in Central Vietnam.

Although this cooperation project ended in 2010, JICA has continued to maintain close ties with Hue Central Hospital, which, together with Bach Mai Hospital in the North and Cho Ray Hospital in the South, is regarded as one of the most important pillars of Vietnam's healthcare referral system.

In particular, during the Covid-19 pandemic between 2021 and 2022, JICA worked closely with Hue Central Hospital to help save lives across Central Vietnam. Support included the provision of ECMO systems, ventilators, patient monitoring equipment, ambulances, ultra-low-temperature freezers for vaccine storage, and training programs on medical equipment management.

When I revisited Hue Central Hospital in June 2025, I was deeply impressed by its remarkable progress. Nearly two decades after completion, the facilities supported through Japanese assistance remain exceptionally well maintained. I was also delighted to see a hospital cafeteria named the “ODA Canteen” bustling with patients and their families.

Interestingly, I noticed a newly constructed hospital building that closely resembled the design of the original facility financed through Japanese grant aid. Hospital staff explained that they were so satisfied with the Japanese-designed building that they adopted a similar design when constructing new facilities with their own resources.

I also learned that the hospital now welcomes hundreds of medical students from neighboring countries and Europe each year for training programs, including endoscopy techniques. In addition, the hospital has partnered with a Japanese elderly care service provider to offer day-care services for senior citizens. Having been involved in the project many years ago, I felt genuinely proud and encouraged by the hospital's extraordinary development.

Member of Party Central Committee and Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu poses for a commemorative photo with a JICA volunteer delegation at the Ministry's headquarters, October 2025. (Photo: Thanh Long)

Another important aspect of JICA's work in Hue has been the activities of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), one of JICA's flagship cooperation programs.

To date, JICA has dispatched a total of 57 volunteers to various organizations and institutions across Hue. Remotely related to The Girl on the River that I mentioned earlier, one of those volunteers supported the livelihoods of disadvantaged families living in floating houses on the Huong River. Volunteers have also worked in fields such as rehabilitation, nursing, special education for children with disabilities, and community development, making valuable contributions to local social services and human resource development. In the tourism sector, volunteers were assigned to Hue Tourism College and to the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Their efforts contributed to tourism promotion and helped attract international visitors, including tourists from Japan.

One of JICA's longest-standing volunteer partnerships in Hue has been with the University of Foreign Languages, Hue University. Last year, the Faculty of Japanese Language and Culture of this University celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over the years, JICA has dispatched 12 volunteers to this Faculty, including a volunteer currently working there.

I understand that the faculty now has nearly 900 students. Many graduates go on to work for Japanese companies in Vietnam or Japan, while others become educators themselves. Regardless of their career paths, I hope they will continue to serve as bridges between Vietnam and Japan, drawing on not only their Japanese language skills but also their deep understanding of Japanese society and culture, which has been fostered through interactions with JICA volunteers.

The Hai Van Tunnel project – one of the key transport infrastructure projects in Central Vietnam and the country as a whole. (Source: Deo Ca Group)

Finally, I would like to highlight JICA's cooperation in infrastructure development.

I would like to begin with the Hai Van Tunnel project.

Located on National Highway 1, Vietnam’s main north-south transport artery, the approximately 20-kilometer Hai Van Pass connecting Hue and Da Nang was once a narrow and steep mountain road characterized by a series of sharp curves. During the rainy season, landslides and road shoulder collapses frequently disrupted traffic. Travel through the pass typically took about one hour, and road closures were common, creating a major bottleneck for transportation and economic development in Central Vietnam.

Against this backdrop, the Governments of Vietnam and Japan reached an agreement in Japanese fiscal year 1996 to construct the Hai Van Tunnel, Vietnam's first road tunnel through a mountain pass. The project included a 6.3-kilometer tunnel as well as access roads and bridges. After approximately 100 months of construction, the tunnel officially opened in 2005.

By the time of the project's ex-post evaluation in 2009, travel time through the Hai Van Pass had been reduced from roughly one hour to just 15 minutes. Road closures and traffic accidents had also decreased significantly.

The Hai Van Tunnel, which remains the longest mountain road tunnel in Southeast Asia, has played a vital role in improving connectivity and promoting economic growth not only in Hue and Central Vietnam but across Vietnam as a whole. Stakeholders of Japan’s ODA, including JICA, are proud to have contributed to this transformative project.

A more recent example of infrastructure cooperation is JICA's support for improving Hue's water environment and drainage systems.

Historically known as a city of water, Hue has faced increasing environmental challenges since the 2000s. Rapid population growth, increasing volumes of domestic wastewater, and effluent from public facilities such as hospitals and hotels have contributed to the deterioration of water quality in the Huong River and the canal system within the Citadel. In addition, flooding caused by climate change and inadequacies in the drainage network has had a significant impact on the daily lives of residents.

In response, JICA supported a yen-loan project aimed at improving wastewater treatment capacity, reducing urban flooding, enhancing public sanitation, and improving water quality in the Huong River. The project focused on the established urban areas on the southern bank of the river.

As a result, Hue City's wastewater treatment plant, with a treatment capacity of 30,000m³ per day, was completed in 2020. In 2026, all project components, including approximately 22 kilometers of river embankment improvements along the Huong River, had been completed.

The project developed approximately 177 kilometers of sewer pipelines and 26 kilometers of drainage canals, creating a combined wastewater and drainage network of more than 203 kilometers. These investments have significantly improved living conditions, wastewater management, and flood mitigation capacity throughout Hue City.

Overview of Hue Wastewater Treatment Plant built by Japanese ODA loan.

Vietnam is currently undertaking a wide range of reforms aimed at achieving its goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

In this context, JICA intends to support these reform efforts in line with the Japanese Government’s development cooperation policy, while building on the assets and achievements accumulated through past cooperation. Working closely with a broad range of stakeholders in both Japan and Vietnam, JICA will continue to support Vietnam through a comprehensive package centered on four key pillars: (i) science, technology innovation, and digital transformation (DX)human resources; (ii) growth of domestic enterprises and deeper integration into global value chains; (iii) investment environment; and (iv) strategic infrastructure.

Our future cooperation with Hue will also be formulated and implemented within this broader framework.

In the area of science, technology innovation, and DX, JICA is currently preparing a cooperation initiative aimed at enhancing disaster resilience through an integrated approach that includes monitoring, analysis and forecasting of landslides and debris flows, dissemination of early warning information, decision-making support, and evaluation of disaster risk reduction measures. The project seeks to digitally implement an early warning system while strengthening local disaster preparedness and response capacity.

This initiative is expected to be carried out under the framework of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), a program jointly implemented by JICA and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) as part of Japan’s efforts to promote science and technology diplomacy. The lead research institution on the Japanese side is Gunma University, while Thuyloi University serves as the lead institution on the Vietnamese side. We hope that the outcomes of this joint research will make a tangible contribution to disaster prevention and mitigation in Hue, which suffered significant flooding and other natural disasters as recently as last year.

Regarding promoting the growth of domestic enterprises, expanding participation in global value chains, and improving the investment environment, we believe that continued support for Japanese language education at the Faculty of Japanese Language and Culture, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, will play a vital role. By creating synergies with initiatives such as the Japan Foundation’s dispatch of Nihongo Partners to five secondary schools and three high schools in Hue, we would like to see individuals with a deep understanding of the Japanese language, society, and culture serving as bridges between Vietnamese and Japanese businesses, thereby contributing to stronger business partnerships and enabling Vietnamese enterprises to become more deeply integrated into global value chains.

In the area of strategic infrastructure, JICA is currently examining the possibility of a next-phase project focusing on the historic urban area on the northern bank of the Huong River. The proposed initiative would aim to improve the water environment and reduce urban flooding. Through these efforts, we hope to contribute to creating a more attractive urban environment for both residents and visitors while also supporting the preservation of Hue’s historic landscapes and rich cultural heritage.

Finally, I would like to touch upon an area that cuts across all four pillars: cooperation between Japanese and Vietnamese local governments in promoting smart and green development. During its period of rapid economic growth from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, Japan achieved double-digit economic growth in many years. However, this growth came at a high cost. Excessive development and environmental pollution adversely affected public health, the natural environment, and even local culture and traditions.

Vietnam has adopted smart and green development as a national policy. In pursuing this vision, Japan's past challenges, the lessons learned through the efforts of various sectors of Japanese society to overcome them, and the innovative technologies developed along the way can provide valuable insights for Vietnam as it continues its rapid growth and development.

Many of these experiences and technologies have been preserved and refined by local governments throughout Japan. Through JICA's Partnership Program (JPP), JICA provides a framework that enables Japanese local governments and organizations to share practical solutions and expertise with local communities in Vietnam.

One recent example is a JPP Project implemented by the Environment Department of Fukuoka Prefecture to support the operation and maintenance of a landfill site in Hue using the Fukuoka Method. The Fukuoka Method is an environmentally friendly landfill technology jointly developed by Fukuoka City and Fukuoka University in the 1970s. Its advantages include improved leachate treatment, reduced methane emissions-one of the greenhouse gases - and relatively low implementation costs.

Working with Hue’s Department of Construction, the project supported the development of operational and maintenance manuals for a landfill currently under construction in Phong Binh. The facility is now in its final stage of construction, and the manuals are planned to be utilized once operations begin. In addition, Kyoto City is preparing a new JPP project to support the establishment of community-based waste reduction and waste separation systems in Hue. It is hoped that these initiatives will generate synergies and contribute to the smart and green development of Hue and, more broadly, Vietnam.

Finally, I would like to share a successful example that may be used as a useful reference for future partnerships between local governments in Japan and Vietnam. The City of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, implemented two JPP projects with Hue Water Supply Company (HueWACO) during 2003-2005 and 2013-2016, with the objective of improving water utility management and operations. Yokohama also provided extensive support to technical cooperation projects implemented throughout Central Vietnam during this period.

The partnership between the Yokohama Waterworks Bureau and HueWACO, which began in the early 2000s, has continued to evolve. Today, it has expanded to include Japanese water-related businesses and broader partnerships established under a Memorandum of Understanding involving the Hue Water and Environment Training Center and the Saigon Water Corporation (SAWACO). This represents a successful case in which local governments in Japan and Vietnam established their partnership through JICA's Partnership Program and subsequently deepened and expanded their cooperation. We hope that this Local Partnership Forum will provide a valuable opportunity to further promote such kind of partnerships.