HCMC inks cooperation deal with Japan’s Aichi
Omura Hideaki, governor of Aichi Prefecture, said Aichi is among Japan’s leading industrial centers with the strong development of the auto, aeronautics and robotics industries.
The authority of Aichi has been successful in transferring the transport system operation rights to private enterprises and it will be beneficial to the operation of HCMC’s traffic system if there is a partnership between enterprises of the two sides in the future.
HCMC chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said Japan is the city’s sixth biggest foreign investor with over 800 projects, a modest figure compared to the potential of the two sides.
Phong expected more enterprises from Aichi to set up shop in HCMC given the city’s big demand for industrial development and the prefecture’s industrial strength for the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
He said HCMC will focus more on developing the mechanical, electronics, information technology, pharmaceutical, food and foodstuff processing and high-tech industries. The city is calling for foreign companies to invest in the sectors.
At a meeting with the Ministry of Transport in Hanoi on Monday, Hideaki proposed Vietnamese airlines increase flight frequency between Vietnam and Nagoya as well as open new routes linking Vietnam’s major cities and the Japanese prefecture.
Hideaki said there are about 13,000 people of Vietnamese origin living, working and studying in Aichi, the second biggest number after Tokyo. More than 150 enterprises from the prefecture including Toyota have invested in Vietnam.
Therefore, he called for local airlines to increase the number of flights between HCMC and Nagoya and launch new services between major cities such as Danang to Chubu International Airport in Aichi to meet growing travel demand and promote commercial and tourism ties between Vietnam and Japan.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong underlined the potential for strong growth in two-way trade and travel demand for businesspeople and tourists between the two countries.
Vietnam Airlines is expected to increase flights between HCMC and Nagoya from four to five flights a week from next January before bringing the number to seven.
Vietnam Airlines is the only local carrier to conduct direct services linking Vietnam’s three major cities of Hanoi, HCMC and Danang and Japan’s cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya.
Dong said the ministry backed the proposal and would create favorable conditions for airlines to open new services between Vietnam and Aichi.
The ministry hoped more Japanese enterprises including those from Aichi Prefecture to invest in different sectors in Vietnam, particularly in transport infrastructure.
