PM to JETRO: VN to foster cooperation with Japanese SMEs

(VNF) - In a reception of Chief Representative of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Vietnam on Tuesday (Feb 7), Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Xuan Phuc took account of cooperation with Japanese small and medium enterprises (SME).

In the reception, the PM recalled the successful visit to Vietnam in Jan 2017 of his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. He also stated the upcoming trip of the Japanese King and Queen to the country would be a positive sign of high-level bilateral relationship growth.

Furthermore, the government leader expressed his delights at the willingness of JETRO to coordinate with Vietnamese agencies in launching a large-scale investment-promotion program in the first half of 2017. The program is aimed to give Japanese enterprises an insight of Vietnam's current development in terms of socio-economic and investment environment as well as cooperation prospective.

Specifically, the program will target at Japanese SMEs which can fuel Vietnamese firms with their strong sense of creativity and advance in technology - key factors to nourish the entrepreneurial spirit and startup ambition.

Regarding this goal, the two parties affirmed commitment to making Japan the biggest investor to Vietnam, vastly contributing to socio-economic development of the host country.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc holding reception for JETRO Chief Representative (source: VGP)

To thoroughly prepare for the realization of this goal, the Vietnamese PM assigned functioning institutions to closely coordinate with JETRO.

JETRO Chief representative Atsusuke Kawada, for his side, extended his thanks to PM Phuc for the reception. He continued by highlighting the number of projects invested to Vietnam by Japan in 2016 which exceeded 540. It has proven the high-level attention his country paid to the Vietnamese market, he stated.

Remarkably, in January, at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, JETRO Chairman - Hiroyuki Ishige, in a sideline meeting with the Vietnamese PM, expressed his willingness to support Vietnam in attracting more investment projects from Japan, especially in the context of blossoming bilateral strategic partnership./.

( Phi Yen )