Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told a business forum of the five countries in the Mekong region in Tokyo on July 3 that Vietnam has room for growth and undoubtedly brings new opportunities to Japanese firms.
The Vietnamese government will continually stand by and enable smooth operations for Japanese investors in Vietnam, the PM stated while introducing Vietnam’s advantages in geographical location and socio-political and macro-economic stability, saying that the country is fine-tuning its market economy regulations, developing human resources and infrastructure and pushing international integration forward.
The forum, an activity on the sidelines of the 7th Mekong-Japan Summit, with attending leaders of Mekong countries and representatives from nearly 200 Japanese businesses, is a platform for both sides to discuss development and business prospects in the region.
Speaking at the forum, Chairman and CEO of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Hiroyuki Ishige said his group has opened six representative offices in five Mekong countries. As many as 1,000 Japanese firms applied for membership of the Japanese Business Association in the region from 2012-2015.
Japan’s direct investment in the region hit 6.8 billion USD, rivalling Japanese inflows into China, he said.
Participants held that the Mekong sub-region, with a population of 230 million people and increasing income per capita, continues to be one of Japan’s most significant manufacturing bases and consumption markets.
They said improving regional connectivity has created an encompassing network which could make the region become a new manufacturing base of the world.
Over the past six years of development, Mekong-Japan cooperation has greatly benefitted the GMS’s socio-economic development, especially in infrastructure, transport and logistics service, transforming the region into an attractive investment destination.-VNA
