Japanese enterprises want to increase business in Vietnam

In today's meeting with Vietnamese localities, representatives of Japanese businesses said they wanted to increase cooperation in many fields, especially high-tech agriculture and transportation.

During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Vietnam, leaders of 36 provinces and cities of Vietnam and 25 large Japanese enterprises today participated in an investment seminar. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung commented that the cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and Japan are huge, due to "the characteristics and development levels of the two countries being highly complementary". He said that Japan is currently the second largest FDI partner and the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam. This country has invested in most provinces and fields in Vietnam, contributing greatly to the socio-economic development of the country.

Japanese enterprises survey agricultural production in Nghe An. Photo: Archive

The Deputy Minister said that the three sectors with the most potential for cooperation are manufacturing, agriculture - food processing and trade - services. From the popularity of Japanese cuisine, he said that this is "a symbol of the growth of the Japanese business community for the development and integration space" of localities. He also said that the Ministry of Planning and Investment will create the most favorable conditions for Japanese enterprises to invest and do business effectively in Vietnam, and support connections for provinces and cities.

At the seminar, representatives of several provinces and cities in Vietnam introduced their advantages in terms of geographical location, infrastructure, existing cooperative relations with Japan, and pledged to support businesses to attract investment into the locality. The participating Japanese businesses are all well-known companies, such as Sumitomo, Mitsui, Itochu and Mitsubishi.

Itochu representative said that the meeting helped them gain more information about Vietnam, especially agriculture. He also revealed that Japan is importing 20% ​​of its coffee from Vietnam. And Vietnam should apply high technology, increase output and value to increase exports not only to Japan, but also to many other countries.

Tokyo Metro believes that Vietnam needs to improve its public transport system to develop its economy. They also want to increase cooperation with Vietnam in this field.

Mr. Hiroto Izumi – Assistant to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe commented that this is a good opportunity for Vietnamese localities to show their attractiveness to Japan. He also emphasized that Japan wants to strengthen economic relations and will continue to support Vietnam. The representative of the Japanese Government said that high-tech agriculture is Japan's strength and they can help Vietnam develop this field.

According to VNE