In his opening remarks at the forum, held today at the Hotel du Parc, Hanoi, Pham Tan Cong, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), noted that the occasion was the first of a series of planned events between the two countries, to be organised by the VCCI and its Japanese partners throughout 2023.

“I believe that following the great achievements during the last five decades of Vietnamese - Japanese relations, and through the aspirations of the business community and the determination of both governments, bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries will be strengthened further,” said Cong.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, also in attendance at the event, stressed the importance of Japan as, "One of Vietnam's leading economic partners".

The DPM proposed Vietnam and Japan continue promoting economic cooperation, especially in key industries, with the expectation that Japan will accelerate its technology transfer to Vietnam, thereby aiding sustainable development in the country.

Japan is currently Vietnam's largest official development assistance (ODA) provider, its second-largest labour cooperative partner, third-largest investor and tourism partner, and fourth-largest trading partner. The two nations have been cooperating closely in many key areas such as transport infrastructure, high-quality human resource training, economic reform, science and technology, and education, among others.

As for ​​investment cooperation, Japan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) flow has left footprints in 57 out of 63 cities and provinces across Vietnam. As of last December, Vietnam was home to 4,978 Japanese-invested projects with a total registered capital surpassing $68.89 billion, ranking third among the 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

The forum also marked the occasion of a visit by Yoshihisa Suzuki, chairman of Japan-Mekong Business Cooperation Committee of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), together with an entourage of Japanese business delegates from such diverse fields as high-tech agriculture, renewable energy, IT, and manufacturing. The JCCI chairman noted that as a country with a population of almost 100 million, mostly young people, Vietnam had become an attractive market for Japanese businesses.

With Vietnamese people's growing interest in Japan and its culture, the Vietnamese community in Japan has reached half a million people, accounting for 16 per cent of the total number of foreigners in Japan, second only to China.

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan, the VCCI and its Japanese partners will coordinate a string of activities this year, the two most prominent being the Vietnam-Japan trade and investment promotion forum in Japan, and the Vietnam-Japan Trade and Cultural Exchange Week in the Mekong Delta, which hopes to attract some 300 Vietnamese and 200 Japanese enterprises to join the event.

The two events are expected to take place towards the end of the summer.