Keidanren commended for fostering Vietnam-Japan investment ties

President Tran Dai Quang hosted a reception in Hanoi on July 31 for a delegation from the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee under the Keidanren - Photo: VNA

The President said that after his successful visit to Japan, many Japanese investors came to Vietnam to seek cooperation, investment, and business opportunities, while the number of visitors between the two countries has been on the rise, reflecting the growth in cooperation between the two sides.

He appreciated Keidanren’s support and company with Vietnam during the country’s efforts to improve its investment environment, as well as the organisation’s activities to connect Japanese and Vietnamese firms, thus promoting strategic partnership between the two countries.

President Quang held that the sharing of many common strategic interests between the two countries, along with the prompt implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam defines Japan as its leading and long-term partner, and is keen on working with Japan to further bolster the partnership.

The State leader asserted that the growth of the Vietnamese economy will bring about many opportunities for Japanese firms, pledging that Vietnam will give optimal conditions for them to do business in the local market.

He asked Keidanren to continue coordinating with the Vietnamese side to lure more Japanese investment in Vietnam’s prioritised sectors – namely high-tech agriculture, agro-fisheries processing, electronics, agricultural machineries, environmental protection, power saving, oil and gas, and automobile and spare part production.

He lauded the role of the two Co-Chairs of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee, Kuniharu Nakamura and Hideo Ichikawa, in promoting the collaboration between the two countries, especially in the implementation of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative.

The President stressed that the initiative has helped maintain political policy dialogues between Vietnamese Governmental agencies and Japanese businesses, which he described as an effective channel for Vietnamese authorities to obtain information during the process of completing the legal and policy system in order to better the domestic investment environment.

Kuniharu Nakamura said that the building of the extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan has help to boost bilateral economic cooperation.

He said that Japanese firms see Vietnam as an attractive market with high economic growth, a large population, and political stablity. Vietnam is also a gateway to other ASEAN countries, he noted, adding that the Southeast Asian country has made bigger contributions to the global value chain.

He noted that bilateral investment ties have expanded extensively, with Japanese investments to Vietnam reaching over US$9 billion in 2017.

Kuniharu Nakamura affirmed that Keidanren wants to work with Vietnam in improving the country’s competitiveness through supporting human resource training and granting more scholarships to local students.

Meanwhile, Hideo Ichikawa noted that the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative has contributed to attracting more investment in Vietnam, underlining that Japanese firms hope to continue engaging in high-quality infrastructure projects in Vietnam under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

He committed that Keidanren will continue coordinating closely with Vietnam in realising the initiative.