Representatives of Ho Chi Minh city and Osaka city sign an MoU on tourism cooperation on April 13th (Photo: VNA)
At the event, standing Vice Chairman of the HCM city People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem said Japan is a big trade partner of the southern economic hub of Vietnam with trade approximating USD5 billion in 2016.
Japan is also the fourth largest investor in the city with more than 1,000 projects worth USD3.55 billion. Many projects are invested by major firms from Osaka such as Panasonic, Kintetsu, Matsushita, Sharp and Sanyo.
Liem called for Japanese businesses, especially those in the Kansai region, to invest in transport infrastructure, health care and human resources development, which are also the strengths of Japan and Osaka prefecture.
Expressing the willingness to invest in Vietnam, Masayuki Matsushita – a vice chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation – said up to 20 percent of Japanese firms investing in Vietnam are from the Kansai region.
At the meeting, Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises shared information about HCM city’s economic situation, investment attraction policy and tourism potential, and discussed cooperation in those fields.
A memorandum of understanding on tourism development cooperation was signed between the HCM city Department of Tourism and the culture, sports and tourism division of Osaka city’s Economic Strategy Bureau. Accordingly, the two cities will coordinate to organise promotional programmes, facilitate tourism exchanges, and share information about their tourism industry.
Earlier, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang and other officials of HCM city met with business associations of Kansai so as to enhance bilateral economic links./.