At the reception, Mr Triet said he supports cooperation between Osaka prefecture and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh city and expressed his wish that the Japanese would expand its cooperation to other Vietnamese cities and provinces. He also affirmed that Vietnam always welcomes investment from Osaka.

President Triet reiterated his country’s policy to strengthen comprehensive ties with Japan and said Vietnam highly appreciates the strong commitments made by the Japanese Prime Minister and government regarding boosting their strategic partnership with Vietnam.

For his part, Governor Hashimoto confirmed that Japanese businesses in general and Osaka business in particular all want to increase cooperation with Vietnamese partners.

He briefed Mr Triet on the recent meeting between Osaka businesses and HCM City and stressed that his prefecture also wants to attract Vietnamese investors to Osaka and Japan. He said he hopes relations between localities of both countries will be on par with the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership.

Osaka has set up a representative office in Ho Chi Minh city for trade promotion and investment.