Addressing the business talk, co-chaired by the two PMs, Phuc said Vietnam attracted 2 billion USD of Japanese investment in 2016, adding up to 42 billion USD of Japan’s total investment here, ranking second among 142 countries and territories pouring FDI into the Southeast Asian nation.Japan is also the biggest ODA provider, the third largest source of foreign tourists to and the fourth leading trading partner of Vietnam, he added. Appreciating the role of the two business circles, he said they have made precious contributions to the sustainable and long-term development of bilateral strategic partnership.
The host attributed that outcome to an open economy, intensive integration and a good legal system in Vietnam which have created favourable conditions for foreign enterprises. Additionally, his country also boasts a stable macro-economy and political and social situation. The Government is determined to improve the business climate and aims to be among the top ASEAN countries in terms of the investment environment, he said.
PM Shinzo Abe speaks at the business talk
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ASEAN is now a growth hub of the world, and Vietnam is part of that hub, he said, noting that more than 1,600 Japanese companies are operating in this country. He highly valued Japanese firms’ contributions to Vietnam’s development through investment, job creation and technology transfer. The Government and businesses of Japan will push ahead with close cooperation with Vietnam, Abe stressed
During the two-day visit to Vietnam, the Japanese PM held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, had meetings with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran Dai Quang and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Abe also co-chaired the Vietnam-Japan business talk with PM Phuc, met with head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission and chair of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Pham Minh Chinh, the Director of the Vietnam National University-Hanoi and lecturers and students of the Vietnam-Japan University.
During meetings, the two sides reached consensus on major orientations and specific measures to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership in a comprehensive, substantive and effective manner in the time ahead.
The two sides agreed to continue enhancing political trust through maintaining high-level visits and contacts and optimizing dialogue mechanisms. They vowed to collaborate closely for the success of the Vietnam visit by the Japanese Emperor and Empress this spring. They also consented to strengthen substantive cooperation in security-defence, including in the areas of demining and capacity enhancing for law enforcement at sea.
The two sides achieved a common awareness about promoting connectivity between the two economies through encouraging investment, trade, ODA and cooperation in mutually supplementary fields such as agriculture and labour.
PM Abe announced Japan’s approval of the import of red-flesh dragon fruit from Vietnam while PM Phuc announced Vietnam’s licensing of the import of pear from Japan. Japan pledged to continue to assist Vietnam’s socio-economic development through the provision of ODA, with a commitment of an additional 123 billion JPY (1.05 billion USD) in ODA loans in the 2016 fiscal year.
