Ninh Binh's delegation pays working visit to Japan

On May 30, the delegation paid a courtesy call on Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu.

At the meeting, Hieu emphasised that after more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, and particularly since the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023, Vietnam Japan relations have entered a period of robust development characterized by high political trust, increasingly substantive economic cooperation, and expanding people-to-people exchanges. Japan remains one of Vietnam’s most important economic partners, playing a leading role in development cooperation, investment, trade, science and technology, and human resource development, he said.

Providing an overview of Japan’s socio-economic situation and the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in Japan, the Ambassador noted that the Vietnamese community in Japan has surpassed 600,000 people, making it one of the country’s largest foreign communities. The Vietnamese community has made significant contributions to Japan’s development and to strengthening the friendship between the two nations.

He highly appreciated the cooperation achieved between Vietnamese and Japanese localities, including the partnerships that Ninh Binh province has maintained with Japanese local administrations, organisations, and enterprises.

The diplomat affirmed that the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan would continue to support Ninh Binh in expanding international cooperation, promoting investment and tourism, facilitating business connections, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges, thereby deepening and improving the effectiveness of cooperation between Ninh Binh and itsJapanese partners.

On behalf of the delegation, Lua expressed her appreciation to the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan for its continuous support to Vietnamese localities in general and Ninh Binh province in particular in the fields of external relations, investment promotion, and international cooperation.

Updating the Ambassador on the province’s socio-economic development following its administrative merger, as well as its cooperation with Japanese localities and partners, she noted that Ninh Binh has inherited and continued a number of established partnerships with Japanese localities, including Gunma prefecture, Hyogo prefecture, Kobe city, and Saiki city.

Japan is currently one of Ninh Binh’s most important economic partners. The province hosts 123 Japanese-invested projects with a total registered capital of approximately 1.59 billion USD, primarily in manufacturing, supporting industries, and electronic component production. Cooperation in culture, education, tourism, heritage preservation, and human resource development has also achieved positive results, the official said.

Lua expressed Ninh Binh’s hope to continue receiving support from the Embassy in connecting with Japanese localities, organisations, and businesses in high-tech investment projects, supporting industries, digital transformation, and green transition. The province also seeks to expand cooperation in workforce training, skilled labor development, cultural heritage preservation and promotion, and sustainable tourism development.

As part of the visit, on June 1, the delegation held a working session with leaders of Gunma prefecture to review past cooperation achievements and discuss future directions for strengthening relations between the two localities.

Welcoming the delegation, Yamamoto Ichita, Governor of Gunma prefecture, stated that the re-signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in October 2025 marked an important milestone, providing a foundation for expanding cooperation across various fields. Gunma highly values its friendship with Ninh Binh and wishes to promote increasingly practical and effective cooperation activities.

Introducing Gunma prefecture, Yamamoto noted that it is one of Japan’s major industrial centres, with strengths in manufacturing, precision engineering, automotive components, electronics, high-tech agriculture, and human resource development. Located approximately one hour from Tokyo and offering a favourable investment environment, Gunma continues toattract a growing number of businesses seeking to expand their operations.

Recognising Ninh Binh’s growing potential, advantages, and increasingly attractive investment environment, the Governor expressed his hope that the provincial authorities would continue creating favourable conditions for businesses to develop sustainably.

At the meeting, representatives of Gunma-based enterprises sought further information about Ninh Binh’s investment climate, infrastructure, incentive policies, and development orientation. They highly appreciated the support provided by provincial authorities to the FDI business community while also raising concerns and recommendations regarding human resources, technical infrastructure, administrative procedures, production support services, and flood prevention measures in certain production areas during the rainy season.

In response, Lua and members of the delegation directly addressed many of the issues raised by businesses and pledged to carefully consider and coordinate with relevant provincial agencies to resolve matters within their authority.

Expressing gratitude for the warm reception from the Gunma authorities, Lua emphasised Ninh Binh’s desire to continue receiving support from Gunma in introducing Japanese enterprises to investment opportunities in the province and promoting cooperation in supporting industries, high technology, smart agriculture, digital transformation, human resource development, and people-to-people exchanges.

She also sincerely thanked Gunma prefecture for providing Ninh Binh with a dedicated space to introduce and promote its image, potential, and strengths at the Tech Gunma Programme, scheduled to take place this September.

During the working programme in Gunma prefecture, the delegation visited and worked with Yokowo Co., Ltd., a Japanese enterprise operating an investment project in Dong Van Industrial Park of Ninh Binh province.

Following the meeting, the delegation toured the company’s production facilities and learned about its technological applications, quality management systems, and innovation initiatives currently being implemented./.