Japanese businessmen have seen vast potential and are seeking to build high-tech agriculture in Vietnam, Agricultural Attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi Atsuki Tomoyose said to the Investment Newspaper.

Japanese enterprises have their eyes on not only investment opportunities but also on exporting their machinery and products to Vietnam.

According to the diplomat, the interest stems from Vietnam’s favourable geological features and weather for growing crops in combination with an increasing domestic demand for advancing their traditional sector. Its geographical location would also facilitate connections between Japan, the Southeast Asian region and China.

At a recent meeting with top officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the giant Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said Japanese firms intend to assist Vietnam with agricultural methods and techniques to maximize its production value.

The bank recommended trans-sector cooperation and compiling a national food safety protocol. They also offered to bring their clients to Vietnam.

In October 2014, Fujitsu, a top IT service provider in Japan, signed a cooperation pact with the FPT Group. Under the pact, Fujitsu will provide and implement Akisai, a cloud computing service supporting agriculture management, in the country from 2015-16.

In May, two other Japanese firms, Always and Veggy, took a business trip to northern Vinh Phuc province, sharing their goal to supply fresh vegetables to Japanese restaurants nationwide with an estimated first-year export revenue of approximately 1 million USD.

The governments of Vietnam and Japan have reached an agreement on a comprehensive plan to develop high-tech agriculture in Vietnam to be implemented this year. The sides are also working together to devise a medium- and long-term agribusiness cooperation project.-VNA