Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh recently played host to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Viet Nam, Mr Kunio Umeda, and his wife.  The Japanese guests were visiting Da Nang to attend the recent Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival 2017 at the former Han River Port.

Secretary Anh (4th right), other city leaders, and their Japanese guests

As of May, Japan was the city's fifth largest foreign investor out of 43 countries and territories worldwide.  Last year, the number of Japanese tourist arrivals to Da Nang reached 125,000, doubling the figure of the previous year.  Da Nang-Osaka direct flights are expected to open in the near future, offering a new opportunity for the 2 localities to appeal for more businesses and visitors to each other.

During his reception for the Japanese diplomat, Secretary Anh said he would like the Japanese Ambassador to make even greater efforts during his tenure to appeal for more large Japanese groups to invest into Da Nang in the years ahead, and to promote bilateral tourism exchanges between the 2 countries. 

The host also asked for help from the Japanese government to give technical assistance to Da Nang to implement possible projects, funded by ODA loans from Japan, involved in infrastructure for water supply and drainage, seaports, transportation, hi- tech, tourism, services and education. 

With regard to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 (AELW) in November, Secretary Anh vowed that the city authorities would create the most favourable conditions for the Japanese delegation during their attendance at the upcoming international large-scale event.

He hoped that the Japanese Ambassador would join efforts with him to organise even more meaningful activities to boost bilateral cooperation with Japan during AELW 2017.

In reply, Mr Kunio Umeda thanked the city authorities for organising annual dialogues between the city leaders and representatives from Japanese-invested businesses operating in the city.  In particular, he highly praised Da Nang for jointly organising the Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival 2017 which offered a good opportunity for Da Nang and Japanese localities to intensify their bilateral cooperation and mutual exchanges in the near future.

The Japanese diplomat also affirmed that his country would jointly implement cultural programmes in Da Nang during AELW 2017, including models of red-seal ships (Shuinsen) which are Japanese armed merchant sailing ships, and an exhibition of artistic paintings.

The 57^th Asian Business Conference recently took place in Da Nang, attracting about 200 representatives from Vietnamese and Japanese businesses.  The one-day event was jointly organised by the city’s branch of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Brainworks Asia company.  This event featured mutual exchanges of business experiences amongst the participants in construction, agriculture, information technology, aesthetics, health care, education and other aspects.

Many representatives from Japanese businesses remarked that Da Nang boasts many great business and investment potentials and, therefore, the Japanese Businesses’ Association in the city would help Japanese investors learn more about the city’s business environment before conducting their investment activities here.