Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng (right) meets Marubeni CEO Masumi Kakinoki on Tuesday. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng received CEO of Marubeni Corporation Masumi Kakinoki in Hà Nội on Tuesday, calling on his firm and other Japanese businesses to increase co-operation with Vietnamese firms.

The Deputy PM said he valued Marubeni’s consideration of Việt Nam as an important market in Asia, as well as its investment in the country’s critical industries like export-import, energy, food processing and garment-textiles.

He described Marubeni’s development in Việt Nam as an illustration of the Việt Nam-Japan co-operation and friendship, which are flourishing in a substantive and comprehensive manner thanks to high levels of political trust.

Japan is a leading economic, trade and investment partner of Việt Nam, he said, noting that it is the top supplier of official development assistance with capital of some US$30 billion; the second biggest investor with 4,020 projects worth $57 billion; and the third largest source of foreign visitors with some 800,000 tourists to Việt Nam last year. With $38 billion in bilateral trade in 2018, Japan ranks fourth amongst Việt Nam’s trade partners.

Dũng said Việt Nam attaches great importance to its economic partnership with Japan and appreciates Japanese businesses’ investment expansion in various industries. They have actively contributed to local socio-economic development.

As Việt Nam has signed many trade agreements with foreign partners, he called on Marubeni and other Japanese enterprises to continue increasing investment in Việt Nam and co-operation with local firms. He suggested the group collaborate with Vietnamese partners to produce and distribute Vietnamese products to the Japanese and global markets.

The Vietnamese Government is determined to streamline administrative procedures and improve the investment climate, thereby creating better conditions for foreign investors, including those from Japan, to invest and do business in the country, Deputy PM Dũng said.

At the meeting, Marubeni CEO Masumi Kakinoki thanked the Vietnamese Government, ministries, sectors and localities for creating optimal conditions for his firm to operate. 

He said the group’s intention is to make long-term investments in Việt Nam in various fields, including export-import, electricity generation, liquefied gas projects, running water production and business and wastewater treatment. 

Marubeni also wishes to partner with Vietnamese companies to expand its investment into many other fields, he added. — VNS