PM assures new opportunities for Japanese firms at Mekong forum

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung assured representatives of the five Mekong region countries attending a business forum in Tokyo on July 3 that Vietnam has potential for growth and brings new opportunities for Japanese firms.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and regional leaders at the Mekong Five Economic Forum

The Vietnamese government will continue to support and enable smooth operations for Japanese investors in Vietnam, the PM stated while introducing Vietnam’s advantages in regards to its 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 as well as pushing international integration forward.

The forum, taking place on the sidelines of the 7th Mekong-Japan Summit, with the attendance of 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, President of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Hidehiro Yokoo said his group has opened six representative offices in five Mekong countries. Adding that 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 US$6.8 billion, 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 that improving regional connectivity has created an encompassing network, which holds the potential to transform the region into a new manufacturing centre of the world.

Over the past six years of development, Mekong-Japan cooperation has greatly benefited the GMS’s socio-economic development, especially in infrastructure, transport and logistics service, developing the region into an attractive investment destination.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)