Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (third, right), Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane (third, left) and other officials pose for a photo (Photo: VNA) HCMCity (VNA) – Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s CommitteeNguyen Thanh Phong held a meeting on August 10 with visiting Japanese StateMinister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane, who said his country wants tofurther promote concrete cooperation projects with the city.
Phongwelcomed Nakane’s working visit, describing it as a contribution towards themutual understanding and trust between the two countries. In the context of thethriving extensive bilateral cooperation, the partnership between HCM City andJapan has also achieved positive outcomes, he said.
Japanis currently a leading partner of HCM City in terms of economy, trade,investment, culture, education, and tourism, Phong said, adding that the cityhas also implemented many initiatives, mechanisms, and policies to enhance tieswith Japan, especially in the field of economy.
The chairman highly evaluated Japan’s assistance in key infrastructureprojects, such as the water environment rehabilitation project and metro line no.1. He asked Nakane to continue supporting the provision of ODA loans andtechnical assistance for metro line no. 3A and the expansion of metro line no.1 to Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, and called for more help in trainingpersonnel to operate the urban railway systems.
HCMCity will continue to work closely with Japan to fulfil its assigned jobs inthe implementation of cooperation projects, the official added.
Atthe meeting, Nakane said he has visited Vietnam three times since the beginningof 2018, with the hope of helping to foster the fruitful bilateral cooperation,including that with HCM City.
Japan has been coordinating closely with Vietnamin issues relating to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) so as to make full use of these deals to step up ties betweenthe two countries, he said.
Speaking highly of HCM City’s role in the southernregion of Vietnam and the ASEAN, he affirmed that Japanese businesses with richexperience and high technology are always ready to cooperate with the city andcontribute to its development.
Nakane also thanked HCM City for creating optimalconditions for Japanese investors and asked municipal leaders to further helpJapanese firms address obstacles to their projects, including those usingJapanese ODA.
Morethan 1,100 Japanese companies are investing and doing business in HCM City withtotal capital of approximately 4 billion USD. Japan is the third biggest tradepartner and the fifth largest source of foreign tourists of the city.–VNA
