The People’s Committee of the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on July 1 launched the Japan Desk, aiming to promote ties between Japan and the locality, especially in investment.

This is an important milestone in the partnership between the two sides, said Ho Van Nien, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Nien, who is also head of the new desk, highly valued contributions of Japanese investors to the socio-economic development of the locality and its effort to become an international port in the future.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau has so far hosted 290 foreign direct invested projects with a combined capital of more than 26 billion USD, including 19 Japanese ones totalling over 1.9 billion USD, mostly in steel production, oil and gas pipe processing, mechanical engineering, seaport and apparel.

Nakajima Satoshi, Japanese Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnam has been an attractive destination to Japanese investors.

The establishment of the Japan Desk with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency is part of the Japanese Government’s policy to back its enterprises abroad, he said.

The desk, formed within the joint initiative signed in April 2003 between the Vietnamese and Japanese governments, is expected to strengthen the coordination among local authorised agencies in settling difficulties facing Japanese investors during their operations in the locality.

It is also expected to help Ba Ria-Vung Tau call for more investment from Japan , while keeping close connectivity with the Japan Desk in Ho Chi Minh City in improving its investment environment.

The same day, the province signed a cooperation agreement with Japanese Muzuho bank that has a network spanning 37 countries and territories.

The deal will allow the two sides to support Japanese enterprises, especially those in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, aiming to increase Japanese investment in the province.-VNA