Viet Nam
Japan's assistance to Viet Nam formerly focused on five priority areas: (1) capacity and institution building, (2) electricity, transportation, and other infrastructure, (3) agricultural and rural development, (4) education and health, and (5) the environment. Since 2003, however, assistance has focused on the three priority areas of (1) growth promotion, (2) improvements in living and social conditions, and (3) institution building.
Important goals in the field of promoting growth include encouraging the development of the private sector, including businesses funded by foreign investment; establishing appropriate institutions and policies; and building the foundations of economic activity, such as economic infrastructure and human resources development.
To achieve these goals, JICA targets its assistance at improving the investment environment; promoting small and medium-sized enterprises and the private sector; putting in place economic infrastructure in the fields of transportation, electricity, and information technology; developing human resources that can support growth; and advancing economic reforms, including the reform of state-run enterprises.
Challenges in the field of improving living and social conditions, which are linked to the problem of poverty, were laid out in the Millennium Development Goals adopted at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000. These challenges are a manifestation of the lack of basic necessities that many people face. From the twin perspectives of human security - a concept focused on individual human beings - and poverty reduction, as well as from the standpoint of responding to humanitarian and social demands, JICA's assistance in this area targets the sectors of education, health, agricultural and rural development, regional development, urban development, and the environment.
In the field of institution building, putting in place systems to serve as the social and economic foundations of a country is important not only to achieve growth but also to overcome challenges in living and social conditions. JICA's assistance in this field focuses on the establishment of legal systems and on administrative reforms, including civil service and fiscal reform.
