The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organized an October 29 meeting in Hanoi for Vietnamese and Japanese businesses seeking cooperative opportunities. VCCI President Vu Tien Loc noted the two countries’ ever-increasing economic cooperation, cementing Japan among Vietnam’s leading investors and economic partners. In the first ten months of this year, Japanese businesses poured nearly US$5 billion into Vietnam. Loc said the VCCI and its Japanese partners are eager to serve as a bridge linking the business communities of both nations. Japan-Mekong Business Committee President Kohei Watanabe passed on the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s enthusiasm for the Vietnamese market and its intentions to facilitate Japanese business delegation surveys of the Vietnamese business environment. Japanese enterprises hopes Vietnam will fine-tune its business environment in accordance with international norms, and are committed to Vietnam for the foreseeable future. Japanese businesses are currently rearranging their favoured investment destinations, a restructuring that could help satisfy Vietnam’s insatiable investment demand. Vietnam wants to prioritise support industry projects to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand overseas. Cooperation with Japan could fuel domestic businesses’ production reforms, management improvements, and technology upgrades, honing their competitive edge for a successful international integration. VOV