The official emphasised that Japan is a leading provider of direct investment and official development assistance (ODA) for Hanoi, with 32 projects totalling approximately US$3 billion, and currently ranks second in terms of the number of projects and the total foreign investment capital in the Vietnamese capital.
Considering Japan as its extensive and long-term partner, Hanoi has organised a “Japanese information table” in order to support, clarify concerns, and supply information for Japanese investors and businesses, he noted.
The Hanoi mayor expressed his hope that the conference would be an ideal platform for companies and investors to discuss cooperation opportunities, as well as for Hanoi to introduce its economic policies and directions for investment attraction, and to clearly explore the requests and aspirations of the Japanese firms.
Addressing the conference, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda affirmed that there will be a lot of activities held in 2018 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.
The conference took place at the right moment and in favourable conditions, with Hanoi’s vibrant and promising economic development and the strong interest of Japanese firms in Vietnam at present, he stated.
On behalf of the municipal leaders, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, Ngo Van Quy, introduced an overview of Hanoi-Japan investment and tourism cooperation and the Vietnamese capital’s socio-economic development directions for 2018-2020, stating that over recent years, the local authorities have paid special attention to attracting investment and pledged to take the lead in creating a favourable business climate for investors.
The city has drastically directed the building of an e-Government, whilst strengthening the application of information technology and the simplification of administrative procedures in order to reduce costs and time, and to improve the quality of services for businesses, he said.
The conference recognised a number of queries from the Japanese companies and answers were delivered by Hanoi’s leaders concerning the investment fields of mutual concern. As many as five memoranda of understanding on bilateral cooperation were signed at the event, in the areas of producing safe crops, training behavioural skills, providing tourism services, and expanding the artistic glass manufacturing factory.
