Prime Minister vows support to Japanese businesses

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) holds a reception in Hanoi on Tuesday for President and Chief Executive Officer of Japan’s Mitsui i & Co. Ltd Tatsuo Yasunaga. - VNA/VNS Photos Thong Nhat

He made the statement in separate receptions in Hanoi on Tuesday for President and Chief Executive Officer of Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd Tatsuo Yasunaga and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Honda Motor Seiji Kuraishi.

In the meeting with Yasunaga, the PM said the Vietnamese Government welcomed the partnership between Mitsui and Minh Phu Seafood Corporation – a major shrimp farming business in Vietnam – adding that Vietnam was striving to earn US$10 billion from shrimp exports.

The success of Mitsui would attract major corporations to Vietnam, he said.

He added that with the signing of agreements between the two countries, especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Mitsui could feel secure about the legal framework in Vietnam.

The host expressed his hope that Mitsui would further increase its consumption of Vietnamese goods.

Yasunaga informed the leader that Mitsui had decided to invest $100 million into Minh Phu. He hoped that via the bilateral partnership, Minh Phu’s shrimp exports would rise to $1 billion from the current $700 million.

In the meeting with Kuraishi, the PM lauded Honda for its quality products, tax contributions to Vietnam’s State budget and active social activities. He asked Honda to contribute more to developing Vietnam’s support industry and purchase more spare parts manufactured by Viet nam.

The leader said that as local incomes increased, more Vietnamese people would buy automobiles.

Kuraishi thanked the Vietnamese Government for its support, as well as the Vietnamese people for trusting Honda products over the years. He said Honda was expanding in Vietnam and needed support from the Government, the PM, ministries and agencies. Apart from promoting safe driving, Honda is stepping up a campaign to present helmets to Vietnamese children.

It had so far presented 2 million helmets to raise public awareness of traffic safety, he said.