Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Governor of Wakayama Prefecture Nisaka Yoshinobu inked the MoU.

Earlier, speaking at a meeting with Governor Nisaka, Minister Dien spoke highly of the development potential of Wakayama - a locality with gross domestic product (GDP) ranked 20th out of 47 provinces and cities in Japan although it has just a population of over one million.

The Vietnamese minister affirmed that there are still many opportunities for close cooperation between the two sides to turn that potential into substantial benefits for businesses of Vietnam and Japan.

He asked the governor to encourage businesses in the prefecture to increase investment in Vietnam, saying that investing in Vietnam does not only help Wakayama’s enterprises exploit the market of nearly 100 million people, but also can reach out to the market of 600 million people of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or larger markets such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

With investment from the prefecture’s firms, Vietnam will have access to new technologies in the production and processing of agricultural products and management expertise along with new human resources, he said.

Dien also said he hopes that Wakayama Prefecture will cooperate in sharing experience, consulting on industrial development policies and promoting collaboration in the production of components and equipment for the textile industry.

For his part, Governor Nisaka expressed his delight at the cooperation results between the two sides over the past time, and thanked the MoIT for the support in granting import permits for Unshu's fresh tangerines from the prefecture. He also affirmed that Wakayama will facilitate the granting of licence for the import of Vietnam's fresh longan in 2022.

Nisaka highlighted the significance of the cooperation framework between the MoIT and Trade and Wakayama Prefecture, and expressed his belief that through the MoU signed on this occasion, the two sides will closely coordinate to organise many specific activities to maximise the potential and strengths of Wakayama prefecture and Vietnam in the context that Vietnam and Japan are effectively implementing the CPTPP and preparing to implement the RCEP at the beginning of the next year.

He also wished to welcome Vietnamese businesses to invest in Japan in general and Wakayama in particular in the near future.