During a cultural exchange programme on October 13 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (September 21, 1973 - 2023), Son affirmed that Ben Tre attaches great importance to and has taken strong and specific steps to promote cooperation with all-level authorities, organisations, individuals and businesses of Japan.
He added that the locality has established cooperative relationships with several Japanese localities.
Notably, in 2022, Ben Tre signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation with Ehime prefecture. In June 2023, it organised an investment promotion workshop to introduce investment potential and opportunities in the locality to 170 Japanese businesses from Ehime, Tokyo, Osaka, Kagawa and Hiroshima.
According to the official, Japan investors have four projects worth 79 million USD out of 64 foreign-invested projects in Ben Tre, accounting for nearly 5% of the total FDI capital poured into the province.
In the first half of 2023, Ben Tre’s export turnover to Japan reached 128.72 million USD.
The province has so far sent 4,000 labourers to work in the Japanese market under contracts, accounting for over 90% of the total number of local workers working abroad.
Since 1990, eight Japanese non-governmental organisations have provided assistance to the locality with a total fund of more than 1.2 million USD, mainly in the fields of health, sustainable and organic agriculture, and education, entrepreneurship, and rural transport.
Son took the occasion to call for more support from Japan for the locality in supplying clean water and developing wastewater treatment systems for urban areas and concentrated residential areas, health care and education, green energy, poverty reduction and ensuring social security.
Addressing the event, Ono Masuo, Consul General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, said local exchanges between Ben Tre and Japan are being further promoted.
He expressed a hope that Japanese businesses will pay more attention to Ben Tre, then investment will be expanded, thus contributing to deepening the relationship between Japan and Ben Tre.
In the framework of the event, a space for experiencing Vietnamese and Japanese culture was launched.
On the occasion, individuals who have made positive contributions to building and promoting good traditional relations between Vietnam in general and Ben Tre in particular and Japan were presented the certificates of merit of the provincial People’s Committee.
