Submit to the Government orientations for attracting ODA and preferential loans for the 2026-2030 period in the fourth quarter of 2025

(Chinhphu.vn) – Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son requested the Ministry of Finance to closely coordinate with Vietnam's development partners to develop orientations for attracting, managing and using ODA capital and preferential loans for the 2026-2030 period, and submit them to the Government for promulgation in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, Head of the National Steering Committee on ODA and preferential loans, chaired a meeting with Vietnam's development partners - Photo: VGP/Hai Minh

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, Head of the National Steering Committee on ODA and preferential loans, made the above request at a meeting with Vietnam's development partners, which took place on the afternoon of September 12 at the Government Headquarters.

Attending the meeting were leaders of ministries and branches who are members of the National Steering Committee on ODA and preferential loans; leaders of 6 development banks: World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), French Development Agency (AFD) and German Reconstruction Bank (KfW); representatives of the Embassies of Japan, Korea, Australia, the European Union and the United Nations in Vietnam.

Based on the above orientation, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the leaders of the Ministry of Finance to periodically organize interdisciplinary working groups with development partners, from the stage of identifying cooperation projects to the process of preparing and implementing projects to promptly detect difficulties and problems for immediate handling or reporting to competent authorities for timely handling, ensuring the progress and effectiveness of projects using foreign loans.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son asked development partners to continue supporting Vietnam in improving its capacity from project identification to implementation; listening and coordinating with Vietnam to harmonize procedures between the two sides, including internal procedures, capital commitments, and requirements on the level of detail of documents from donors to speed up the preparation and implementation of projects.

In the context that Vietnam has just implemented a two-tier government model and promoted decentralization and delegation of power to localities, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that donors have non-refundable aid projects to support Vietnamese localities to improve their capacity in implementing ODA projects and preferential loans.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son asked development partners to continue supporting Vietnam in improving its capacity from project identification to implementation - Photo: VGP/Hai Minh

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested that central ministries and branches provide guidance and training to improve the capacity of localities in implementing tasks decentralized from the central to local levels, including the use of ODA capital and preferential loans.

According to the Ministry of Finance, in the 2021-2025 period, Vietnam will mobilize an average of 800 million to 1 billion USD in ODA capital and preferential loans each year, except for 2022 when there was a significant decrease due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first 8 months of 2025, Vietnam has mobilized nearly 450 million USD in ODA loans and foreign preferential loans and is expected to mobilize about 370 million USD more from now until the end of 2025.

In general, in the 2021-2025 period, the disbursement results of foreign capital public investment capital were much lower than the assigned capital plan. The total ODA disbursement for the entire 2021-2024 period reached about VND 66,528 billion, equal to 22% of the total public investment capital plan assigned at the beginning of the period and equal to 44.9% of the total capital plan assigned by the Prime Minister after adjustment.

In the first 8 months of 2025, central and local agencies disbursed VND 3,592.68 billion, equal to 15.34% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister (VND 23,416.48 billion).

The Ministry of Finance said that Vietnam's demand for mobilizing foreign loans is very large in 2025 and the coming period to implement large projects and works that have a spillover effect and can change the situation. In the 2025-2027 period alone, Vietnam plans to mobilize about VND2,218.3 trillion.

To speed up the progress of ODA projects, Vietnam has made efforts to improve the legal corridor, such as eliminating the stage of project proposals that must be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval and is expected to replace it with a stage of loan proposals with simplified information requirements to shorten the time from project preparation to negotiation and signing of international treaties/loan agreements.

At the same time, decentralize the authority and procedures for approving investment policies/project implementation; simplify the procedures for approving policies to implement projects using non-refundable aid capital; reduce procedures for adjusting capital allocation time for ODA projects and preferential loans with the regulation that capital allocation time is equal to the disbursement period (including extension period) in the foreign loan agreement.

Vietnam also simplifies regulations on capital appraisal when deciding on investment policies and investment decisions for projects using ODA capital and preferential loans, requiring only a letter of interest or a written commitment to funding from a foreign sponsor; allowing independent disbursement of allocated capital plans and re-loan capital plans, without requiring simultaneous disbursement according to the ODA allocation/re-lending ratio; and providing additional guidance in case of stopping the use of ODA capital and preferential loans.

In the field of bidding, the Government is authorized to decide on the application of foreign sponsor regulations in cases where foreign sponsor regulations on procurement and bidding are different or not yet regulated by Vietnamese law.

Shorten implementation time and harmonize procedures with donors by allowing pre-bidding activities to be carried out before signing international treaties and foreign loan agreements.

Most recently, the Government issued Decree No. 242/2025/ND-CP replacing Decree No. 114/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 20/2023/ND-CP, with some notable innovations such as creating a legal corridor for state-owned enterprises to use ODA capital and preferential loans; simplifying the process of receiving non-refundable ODA aid capital.

The new Decree also updates the changes stipulated in the amended Law on Public Investment issued in 2024 (eliminating the project proposal stage, simplifying regulations on capital appraisal, decentralization, and delegation of authority to decide on investment policies, investment decisions for projects using ODA capital, foreign preferential loans, etc.).

With the merger of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, from March 1, 2025, the Ministry of Finance will become the sole focal point for state management of ODA capital and preferential loans.

Regarding public debt management, the Ministry of Finance is finalizing the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Public Debt Management to submit to the Government for approval by the National Assembly at the October 2025 session.

The draft Law proposes appropriate amendments to facilitate public service units, state-owned enterprises and subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises to access ODA capital and preferential loans, promote decentralization and delegation of authority in the process and procedures for managing ODA loans and foreign preferential loans, etc.

Implementing Resolution No. 190/2025/QH15 dated February 19, 2025 of the National Assembly, to ensure continuity in the implementation of projects using ODA loans and foreign preferential loans, the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Prime Minister for promulgation Decision No. 1655/QD-TTg dated August 4, 2025 approving the principles of amending the names of governing bodies and project owners in loan agreements on behalf of the Government with foreign sponsors after the merger of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and localities, thereby authorizing the leaders of the Ministry of Finance to sign documents amending loan agreements on behalf of the Government with sponsors on adjusting the names of governing bodies and project owners after the arrangement.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance is synthesizing opinions from ministries and localities to have a basis for discussion with foreign donors on this content, ensuring continuity in project implementation.

Regarding the monitoring and management of foreign capital disbursement in 2025 of localities after the merger, the Ministry of Finance has sent an official dispatch to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities on urging the disbursement of the foreign capital public investment plan in 2025 of localities implementing the merger.

The Ministry of Finance requested localities to urgently stabilize the organizational structure of the Project Management Boards using ODA capital and foreign preferential loans, promptly complete the procedures for introducing signature samples, registering new account numbers (if necessary) and carrying out the procedures for signing appendices to adjust re-lending contracts to avoid interruptions in foreign capital disbursement.

Regarding the adjustment of the re-lending rate applicable to provinces and centrally run cities after the merger, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Dispatch No. 12976/BTC-QLN dated August 22, 2025 to localities regarding the notification of the re-lending rate of ODA loans and foreign preferential loans of the Government specifically for provinces and centrally run cities from July 1, 2025 and applied for the 2025 budget year.

At the meeting, representatives of development partners highly appreciated Vietnam's recent development achievements and strong reforms; appreciated the Vietnamese Government's openness in organizing dialogues with development partners so that the two sides can understand and get closer to each other; and affirmed their readiness to accompany and support Vietnam in the upcoming development period./.

Hai Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/trinh-chinh-phu-dinh-huong-thu-hut-oda-von-vay-uu-dai-giai-doan-2026-2030-trong-quy-iv-2025-102250912190339379.htm