Japan and Vietnam, at a joint committee meeting in Hanoi on Saturday, agreed to work together for the promotion of the textile industry in Vietnam.
The agreement is aimed at dealing with an expected increase in Vietnamese textile exports to the United States once the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement enters into force. Japan, Vietnam and the United States are among the 12 nations that signed the TPP deal earlier this year.
At the first meeting of the Joint Committee between Japan and Vietnam on Cooperation in Industry, Trade and Energy, the two countries also agreed to start an industrial policy dialogue at an early date and discuss specific measures.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Motoo Hayashi expressed Tokyo’s hope of expanding bilateral trade and promoting Japanese companies’ investment in Vietnam.
“By using this committee as a springboard, we want to advance economic relations between Japan and Vietnam to a new stage,” he said.
The two countries’ governments agreed in July last year to establish the committee for strengthening bilateral economic cooperation.
At Saturday’s meeting, Japan reaffirmed its support for the construction of a nuclear power plant in southern Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan Province, based on the lessons learned from the March 2011 nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Hayashi became the first Japanese Cabinet minister to visit Vietnam after the country’s ruling Communist Party unveiled its new leadership at the 12th National Congress in January.
On Saturday, Hayashi met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is set to become prime minister, and exchanged opinions about the strengthening of the two countries’ relations based on their strategic partnership.
Hayashi was to visit a Japanese-affiliated convenience store in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, hoping to find out what could be the challenges for Japanese companies expanding business in Vietnam in the future.
Under the TPP, restrictions on foreign investment in Vietnam’s retail industry will be eased.
Source: http://www.the-japan-news.com
Keywords: Govt, to help, boost, textiles, in Vietnam
