A green city with modern transport infrastructure will help Ho Chi MinhCity reel in more investment from Japan, a Japanese economic officialhas said.

Kohei Watanabe, President of the Mekong–JapanEconomic Cooperation Committee, affirmed this during a meeting withChairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan in the cityon October 31.

Kohei Watanabe and Vietnamese Ambassador toJapan Doan Xuan Hung are leading a Japanese business delegation to thecountry’s biggest economic hub to study the investment environment andseek cooperation opportunities.

Watanabe said Japan’sinvestment in Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, has been growingrobustly over recent years, pledging that the delegation will call onother investors to do business in the city in the coming time.

Chairman Le Hoang Quan said the Japanese community, includingbusiness associations, is the largest in the city, adding that the cityhas built the 1,000 ha Vietnam-Japan Industrial Park, in addition to theexisting Le Minh Xuan Industrial Park, in order to facilitate Japaneseinvestment.

On November 1, Watanabe and Ambassador Hung metwith the Steering Committee for the Southwest Region and representativesfrom Mekong delta provinces and cities to discuss how to lure moreinvestment from Japan to the localities.

The Mekong delta region,comprised of 12 provinces and one city, has a population of 18 million.It holds an extremely important position in Vietnam’s socio-economicdevelopment strategy. The region contributes 20 percent of the nation’sGDP.-VNA