Japan is the partner that has signed the most bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam which open up many opportunities for stronger trade cooperation between the two nations, according to Tran Quang Huy, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Asia-Africa Market Department.

Japan is a market with a large demand for imported agricultural, forestry and fishery products. This is also a potential market for Vietnamese agricultural products to expand in the coming time.

The Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) always treasure trade cooperation with Japan, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan told Governor of Japan’s Wakayama prefecture Kishimoto Shuhei during a working session in Hanoi on July 27.

Many Japanese economic experts have recommended making the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties a milestone to bring the two countries' relations into a new era by promoting private investment in the nation by Japanese enterprises towards common prosperity between both nations.

With Vietnamese goods making up only 2.7% and 3.3% in Japan and the Republic of Korea, respectively, there remains a wealth of opportunities open for Vietnamese exports to enter these promising markets, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Japan during the opening six months of the year hit more than US$20 billion, according to the latest figures released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee under the Japan Business Federation, held a mid-term review meeting for the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative in Hanoi on July 5.

More Japanese consumers prefer Vietnamese cashew nuts, reflected through an expansion of the market share of the product in the country’s total import value.

Twenty-one Vietnamese enterprises in supporting industries and 48 Japanese businesses took part in an online conference on June 10, where they exchanged information and sought partners.

Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Nogami Kotaro co-hosted the fifth Vietnam-Japan high-level dialogue on development co-operation and Vietnam-Japan Public-Private Cooperation Forum on Agriculture in a virtual format on December 12.