Bac Kan province should promote its image and devise more investment attraction policies to lure more Japanese businesses to the locality, said Minister at the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam Nagai Katsuro.
During his tour of the northern mountainous province on March 25, Nagai Katsuro said his embassy stands ready to work as a bridge for Japanese enterprises to invest in the province.
Japan will search for capital sources and suitable methods to provide further support for Bac Kan, Katsuro said, adding that the province should make proposals to the Japanese Embassy if it is interested in Japan’s non-refundable aid.
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| The working session (Source: conganbackan.vn) |
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong described Bac Kan as a promising market for Japanese investors in agriculture and forestry as the locality has forest coverage of up to 85 percent and fertile land suitable for plants that can be exported to Japan.
According to Nguyen Van Du, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) has significantly contributed to local socio-economic development.
He suggested the Japanese Embassy continue its assistance to Bac Kan under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Sector Programme Loans (SPL) VII to upgrade fundamental local infrastructure.
The official also called on the Japanese side to provide more aid for the province in transport, agriculture, education, health care, environmental protection and poverty reduction.
Du also suggested the embassy encourage Japanese firms to invest in the locality, especially in such areas as forestation, wood processing, farm produce processing and preservation, support industries and tourism infrastructure development.
Since 1997, Bac Kan has established cooperative ties with 15 sponsors worldwide. JICA was its first partner.
Between 1997 and 2015, the Japanese Government funded 28 ODA programmes and projects worth nearly 325 billion VND (14.6 billion USD) in the province.
Source: VNA