Hanoi and Japan’s Saitama Prefecture on January 17 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) boosting their future development cooperation in a comprehensive manner.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Suu said Hanoi is enjoying strong growth and wants to expand partnership and exchanges with many localities around the world.

The capital city has established various large and modern industrial clusters to attract foreign direct investment with priority given to high and clean technology projects, added Suu.

Despite advantages in farming, Hanoi’s agricultural production only meets 60 percent of Hanoian’s demand for food. Thus, the city will strongly invest in the agricultural sector in the coming time, especially specialised farming areas.

Hanoi wants to receive scientific and technical aid, along with investment from the Japanese partner, which is strong in agriculture and industry and pledges to facilitate the two sides’ businesses to seek sustainable investment opportunities.

Deputy Governor of Saitama Yasuo Iwasaki said his prefecture, one of Japan’s 17 largest localities, shares many similarities with Hanoi.

He expressed his hope that the two sides will put forth specific action plans following the signed document, adding that Saitama will encourage its enterprises to learn about potential of business in Hanoi, especially its cheap and skilled labour forces.-VNA