(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held talks on Friday in Tokyo with 15 major Japanese groups, many of which are operating in Vietnam, on the sidelines of the 7^th Mekong-Japan summit.


He told the participants that the Vietnamese government pledges to accompany and create the best possible conditions for foreign direct investment businesses and Japanese investors in particular, to operate businesses in Vietnam: "Although there remain shortcomings and obstacles facing Vietnam’s business environment, we are determined to implement a range of solutions at the same time, especially those regarding administrative reforms in tax, social insurance, construction licensing, land, and electricity access. Vietnam aims to achieve ASEAN-4’s criteria regarding the business environment by 2016. Many important revised and new laws entered force on July 1^st, 2015 such as the Investment Law, the Business Law, and the Law on Housing. The government has issued a Decree on partnership-public-private investment and is devising Laws to support small and medium-sized enterprises and to develop the auxiliary industries. This reflects Vietnam’s strong commitment to improving its investment and business environment on a par with international standards and abide by free trade commitments."

Japanese businesses hailed the Vietnamese government’s determination in this area. They said they wanted to expand their activities in Vietnam to fully exploit the advantages of the two countries’ strategic partnership, as well as the economic opportunities brought about once Vietnam signs bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with other countries.

Also on Friday, Prime Minister Dung met with Governor Kuroiwa Yuji of Kanagawa prefecture, home to many Japanese businesses currently operating in Vietnam. He asked governor Kuroiwa Yugi to share his experience and to support Vietnam in agriculture, healthcare, biotechnology, and the construction of smart cities.