Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi in Hanoi on October 3, 2023. Photo from Vietnamese government portal
Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi has urged Vietnam to partner in semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence research and rare earth mining.
Yasutoshi made the proposals to the prime minister during their meeting in Hanoi on Friday, adding that Japanese government agencies would cooperate with their Vietnamese counterparts through working groups to increase partnership, technology transfer and human resources training.
The Prime Minister welcomed the idea of forming working groups to accelerate partnership in specific projects, adding that the Vietnamese government would create favorable conditions for Japanese companies to come and invest.
He proposed that Japan let Vietnamese companies actively participate in the supply chain.
As Vietnam plans to become a developed country with high per capita income by 2045, Prime Minister Chinh has requested Japan’s help in perfecting this institution.
Chinh also wanted Japan to provide official development assistance loans for major infrastructure projects, such as high-speed railways.
He urged Japan to simplify the visa process for Vietnamese and possibly grant them a visa waiver so that more people can live, study and work in Japan.
In May, Vietnam and Japan signed three official development assistance projects worth a combined 61 billion JPY (US$500 million).
Japan is Vietnam’s largest provider of official development assistance, having provided approximately $21.6 billion in official development assistance loans, grant aid and technical assistance to the country since 1992.
