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| Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh and AIIB President Jin Liqun. (Photo: HNMO) |
During the meeting, AIIB President Jin Liqun praised Vietnam's role in establishing AIIB's operational mechanisms, noting that Vietnam was one of the first countries to work with China in setting up the bank. He emphasized that Vietnam has consistently sent representatives to the bank's Board of Directors.
Jin Liqun highlighted that as a developing country, Vietnam can mobilize resources from AIIB to boost its economy, particularly in areas such as power development, infrastructure construction and transnational highways.
The AIIB President affirmed that the bank is ready to provide financial resources to address Hanoi's and Vietnam's needs, particularly in the field of urban railways. He expressed a desire to explore cooperation opportunities in Hanoi.
Chairman Tran Sy Thanh thanked Jin Liqun for his comments and noted that the visit is timely, especially following the recent approval of several important documents related to Hanoi by the National Assembly.
He shared that one of Hanoi's major goals is to restructure its transportation system, including urban railways, aiming to complete these lines by 2035. He mentioned that a working group is being set up to develop a proposal to report to the Government and submit to the Politburo for feedback by around September 2024.
The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee also welcomed the idea of establishing a long-term cooperative relationship between Hanoi and AIIB.
He provided a brief overview of the current state of Hanoi's urban railway construction, noting that there is over 600km left, including both underground and elevated sections. He expressed a desire for both parties to expand exchanges, consult, and find reasonable ways to implement and mobilize funds quickly to meet the proposed timelines.
In response, AIIB President Jin Liqun emphasized that the bank aims to be a reliable partner for Vietnam and Hanoi with a long-term cooperation program. He underscored the need to reduce administrative complexity, maximize cost efficiency and operational effectiveness, and ensure that projects are well-designed, quickly implemented and completed on time.
Jin Liqun also expressed hope that Hanoi and Vietnam would effectively utilize foreign capital to achieve their development goals./.