On Monday afternoon, the Vice Chairman of Da Nang People’s Committee, Mr Phung Tan Viet, played host to a group from Japan’s Kawasaki Port, led by the Director of the port’s Trade Promotion Department, Mr Hiroaki Murata.

Vice Chairman Viet thanked the Japanese port’s leaders for their significant assistance to Da Nang Port over the past 20 years.  He said he hoped that a container shipping route between Da Nang and Kawasaki would be opened this year.

Director Murata and Vice Chairman Viet

The city leader also took the opportunity to extend an invitation to the Japanese Port’s leaders to attend the Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange and Cuisine Festival 2015, which will be held in the city from 28 - 30 August.  He also pledged that the local authorities would create even more favourable conditions for Japanese businesses to operate effectively in the city.

In reply, the Mr Murata said that the purpose of the visit was to boost the bilateral cooperation with Da Nang Port.  This was part of the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding between Da Nang and Kawasaki City, he added.  He also remarked that the opening of the container shipping route should help to attract more Japanese businesses to invest in the city.

Kawasaki Port ranked 6^th among Japan’s seaports for capacity in 2013, and it receives an average of 70 cargo ships of different sizes every day.