On the afternoon of May 21, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with large Japanese enterprises and attended a Vietnam-Japan business forum on the occasion of the expanded G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

Sharing with the Prime Minister, Congressman Kobayashi Fumiki expressed his impression of Vietnam's changes and development when he had the opportunity to visit Ho Chi Minh City late last year.

According to him, Vietnam's human resources are very successful in Japan in the field of information technology, which is a "soft power" that this country should learn from. Therefore, the two countries need to cooperate to take advantage of this resource. "Hiroshima has strengths in semiconductor production, many mechanical enterprises want to invest in Vietnam," he said.

The representative of the Kyushu Regional Economic Federation also said that Vietnam's business environment is attractive, many businesses in the region want to invest here. He suggested that the Vietnamese Government speed up licensing, simplify procedures, and make them faster.

Cooperating with a Vietnamese enterprise since 2011, a representative of Mazda Group said that to date, the company has sold more than 30,000 cars, with 4 models manufactured in Chu Lai (Quang Nam province). With the new trend of using clean energy, moving towards carbon neutrality, a representative of Mazda proposed that the Government have technical policies for electric vehicles, shifting to a circular economy, serving climate change.

Although the investment environment in Vietnam is attractive, a representative of the Rorze Group - a semiconductor manufacturer - expressed his wish that the Government promote green energy and stable electricity supply. "Our end customer, Apple, has committed to being carbon neutral by 2030, so we need to respond to green energy," said a representative of the Rorze Group.

He added that the high land prices in Vietnam, which show no signs of stopping, are affecting investment. However, the group affirmed that it will continue to expand because it considers Vietnam an important production base.

To expand investment, representatives of Japanese enterprises proposed that the Government support administrative procedures such as easier investment licenses and eliminate congestion when carrying out centralized procedures.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam-Japan relations are at their best stage in history, worthy of a deep strategic partnership.

He shared that Vietnam is implementing three strategic breakthroughs (institutions, infrastructure, human resources) to improve the business investment environment, meet human resource needs and reduce costs for businesses and investors.

The Prime Minister called on Japanese investors to increase investment in Vietnam in the fields of supporting industries, electronic components, electric cars, science and technology, innovation, research and development.

The head of the Vietnamese Government also wants Japan and its investors to cooperate and support Vietnam in terms of institutions, capital, technology, human resources, and governance; as well as participate in regional and global supply chains and value chains following the trend of greening and reducing emissions.

Japan is Vietnam's second largest labor partner, third largest investor, third largest tourism partner, and fourth largest trade partner. It is also the country that provides the largest ODA concessional loans to Vietnam, about 2,980 billion yen (including ODA loans, non-refundable aid, and technical cooperation support) since 1992.

Regarding investment, Japan has more than 5,000 valid projects with a total investment capital of more than 70 billion USD, ranking 3rd out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In contrast, Vietnam has 106 investment projects in Japan with a total registered investment capital of about 19.5 million USD.

On the evening of May 21, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh left Hiroshima, Japan, concluding three days of attending the 49th G7 Summit and working in Japan.

Hoai Thu