PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Keidanren Chairman Sadayuki Sakakibara (Source: VNA) He made the appeal at a working session with major Keidanren members like Toray Industries, JXTG Holdings, Nomura Holdings, Tokyo Gas and Mitsubishi Corporation, among others, on June 7 as part of his official visit to Japan.
Vietnam woos Keidanren to invest in environmental protection, renewable energy, industry, agriculture, high technology, tourism and services, he said, noting that Vietnam especially encourages the federation to engage in the equitisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), which has been considered one of the country’s priorities.
“The Vietnamese Government commits to creating the best possible conditions for you,” he affirmed.
Vietnam will do its best to maximise Japan’s official development assistance (ODA), the PM said, suggesting Japanese firms take into account costs of infrastructure construction which has remained high.
Responding to the firms’ proposal for unilateral visa exemption for Japanese, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said since February 1, 2017, Vietnam has launched a two-year e-visa pilot scheme for citizens from 40 countries, including those from Japan.
He reiterated Vietnam’s viewpoints to work together with Japan in order to accelerate international integration with the economy as the centre in the context of trade protectionism.
Vietnam is making every effort to carry forwards its socio-economic achievements in a rapid, strong and sustainable fashion, focusing on green growth, the leader stressed, adding that to that end, the country will pay heed to improving the business environment towards transparency and streamlining administrative procedures.
At the meeting, many investors urged Vietnam to improve its capacity in the support industry and give more importance to personnel training, especially high-quality labour resources, to meet the demand of cooperation projects.
Some noted their wish to cooperate with their Vietnamese partners in construction, industry and energy, and hold regular dialogues with the Vietnamese Government to contribute to finalising the country’s legal framework on foreign investment.
Vietnam now houses more than 1,500 Japanese businesses which operate in various fields such as industry, agriculture, construction, culture and education.
Also on June 7, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the inaugural ceremony of the Vietnamese Goods Week held by the Hanoi People’s Committee and Japan’s AEON Group in Saitama prefecture.
With 50 pavilions, nearly 70 businesses from Hanoi and other Vietnamese cities and provinces are introducing their products to Japanese consumers, mostly clothes, footwear, handicrafts, home decorations, souvenirs and processed agricultural products.
Within the framework of the event, there will be an exchange programme between Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises, a workshop on tourism promotion, along with an array of cultural activities.
Later the same day, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage left Tokyo for Osaka city.-VNA
VNA
