Message of Chief Representative of the JICA Vietnam Shimizu Akira to Vietnam

TIN LIÊN QUAN
	JICA Project supports Vietnam in implementation of the Paris Agreement
	Improving human resources – top factor for Vietnam’s growth: JICA specialists

Mr. Akira Shimizu (left) and Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong. (Photo: SGGP)

Mr. Shimizu Akira came to Vietnam and accepted the position of Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office starting from March 2020, following the term of Mr. Konaka Tetsuo

Here's the full message:

My name is SHIMIZU Akira, and I am taking office as the Chief Representative of the JICA Vietnam Office.

Luckily, I was able to enter into Vietnam safely, and I went through self-quarantine and followed social distancing measures. I sincerely hope that we will soon be able to get through this present situation as soon as possible.

My first assignment at the JICA Vietnam Office was 10 years ago, from March 2010 until February 2014, and this return is my second assignment in Vietnam. When I first arrived in Vietnam, I was overwhelmed by crowded streets with lots of people and the noise of motorcycle horns, but at the same time, I also felt the people’ energy, which seemed to be saying that “Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow must be better than today”. Just as I felt, Vietnam has made remarkable progress in socio-economic development and various other aspects.

Read more
Japan likely to re-open borders to entrepreneurs from Australia, Vietnam

For many years, JICA has been making its best efforts to contribute to the development of Vietnam and to strengthening the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Japan through cooperation schemes such as Technical Cooperation, provision of ODA loans and Grant Aid. For sustainable development of Vietnam in the future, JICA’s support for infrastructure development remains as important as ever.

Meanwhile, to enhance the sustainable and strong bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Japan, human resource development projects, as well as collaboration with Japan’s local governments and NGOs are also essential. Also, we will continue to work on expanding development projects by utilizing Japanese companies’ knowledge. Moreover, on the basis of the ties my predecessor Mr. Konaka and former Chief Representatives have built, I would like to further strengthen a robust and good relationship with Vietnam.

On the other hand, on the occasion of this second assignment, I discovered a new aspect of this country. Until now (as of May 11, 2020), Vietnam has reported no deaths from COVID-19, and has successfully contained community transmission. It seems to me that people are very calm even under social distancing measures. I have been wondering how they have managed to respond to this new threat and where the calmness of these people comes from, and I felt the immense power of the people in this country.

I myself, working under the organization which is implementing international cooperation, have been considering each country, Japan and Vietnam, as partners and working with a focus on building the relationship between the two countries through ODA. But through the situation I experienced this time, I began to think that, I myself need to learn from our partner country more than ever, and work together to tackle the challenges of the new post-corona world.

Though we have to wait for a while to overcome the influence of the coronavirus, I strongly believe that in the near future, we all will be involved in the dynamic social changes of this country.

JICA provides testing reagents to fight COVID-19 to Pasteur Institute On February 21, at Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City, JICA handed over the first package of testing reagents (approximate 1 million yen) to help ...

JICA to provide testing reagents for Vietnam to combat coronavirus As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus (nCoV) in Vietnam, responding to an urgent request from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), JICA ...

JICA Project supports Vietnam in implementation of the Paris Agreement The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Ho ...