Japan helps Vietnam enhance industrial competitiveness

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Japan Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko and Vietnam Industry and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh told reporters following their meeting in Hanoi that they had agreed to several specific measures aimed at strengthening bilateral economic relations.

Mr Seko said Japan wants to expand relations with Vietnam across a wide spectrum of segments of the economy.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the two trade ministers called for collaboration among the Japanese and Vietnamese private sectors in the automobile and auto parts segments and the food industry in addition to infrastructure and energy support.

Subsequent to the meeting between the two trade ministers, major convenience store chain operator Seven-Eleven Japan unveiled plans to start accepting students from Vietnamese universities for its internship program.

Through the training program, the company will work closely with six major universities in Vietnam to hand pick an estimated 10 students for advanced vocational training in accounting, merchandising and marketing.

The training will take place in Tokyo and last for approximately one year, after which the trainees will return to Vietnam to assume managerial positions in Seven-Eleven stores throughout Vietnam.

Through the vocational training program, Seven-Eleven hopes to open more future employment opportunities for the Vietnamese interns.

Meanwhile Japanese Yamato Holdings has unveiled plans to start training Vietnamese workers in Ho Chi Minh City in advanced technologies in the cold parcel delivery services related to the food chain.

Yamato Holdings and a Vietnamese logistics company have established a joint venture in Ho Chi Minh City to offer the new service starting in late September.

The joint venture has set up a cold storage centre near the Tan San Nhat Airport to store perishables imported from Japan. The company will use trucks and motorbikes to deliver fresh food to customers throughout the City.

In connection with the launch, the head of the joint venture, Hiroshi Matsuda, told reporters that the company has plans to transfer Japanese advanced know how in the cold delivery services in the food chain to workers in Hanoi on the drawing board as well.

Lastly, the Japanese Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System,which electronically manages customs procedures and centralizes interactions with relevant government bodies has unveiled plans to further expand support for Vietnam.

The company is specifically looking at transferring better technologies to handle quarantine inspections for importing and exporting of food products, said representatives of Japanese Nippon.

The program is an extension of Japanese support for modernizing customs management through the export of infrastructure systems in ASEAN nations that was initially adopted in 2013.

The objective is to ensure systems connectivity and information sharing functions within ASEAN are up to the level of Japanese technology, thereby reducing custom clearance times by reducing documentation requirements while enhancing safety and profitability in the food chain.