Vice Chairman of An Giang provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh suggested the possibility of boosting home-grown farm produce consumption in Japan during a meeting with Japanese Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Nakajima Satoshi in the southern locality on December 1.

Satoshi, for his part, vowed to serve as a bridge connecting An Giang and Japan, especially in agriculture and health care.

Via the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), An Giang and Japan has formed tie-ups since 1997, with over 20 Japanese projects worth more than 31 billion VND (1.4 million USD) so far, focusing on health care, education, energy, clean water, agricultural personnel training, and rice production-processing-export.

An Giang has also worked closely with Japan’s Saga university on hi-tech and eco-friendly farming. In a joint effort with Japan’s Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, the locality and Kagoshima prefecture have stepped up coordination across agriculture, trade and tourism.

In 2007, the province established a chapter of the Vietnam – Japan Friendship Association with 35 members.

During his visit, the Japanese guest attended a gathering of Vietnamese and Japanese citizens and an exhibition introducing bilateral economic and tourism potential.-VNA