TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Tuesday that his country will extend 100 billion yen ($835 million) in loans for Vietnam to boost the Southeast Asian economy's infrastructural development, as Tokyo and Hanoi aim to strengthen ties on the economic and security fronts.
Following his meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, Abe said Japan will also provide more vessels to Vietnam to bolster the Southeast Asian country's maritime law enforcement capability amid China's muscle-flexing in the South China Sea.
"Our country will provide about 100 billion yen in loans mainly for infrastructure building projects such as ports and harbors, and highway development. These measures will greatly push Vietnam's growth," Abe said at a joint press conference with Trong.