Japan, Vietnam agree to speed up trade talks
TOKYO - Japan and Vietnam on Thursday agreed to finish talks aimed
at signing a bilateral trade pact by the end of this year, reports
said.
The agreement was reached during talks between Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi and Vietnam's top leader Nong Duc Manh, who
arrived here Wednesday for a four-day trip, Jiji Press and Kyodo
News said, quoting a government official.
The trade pact is designed to encourage direct investments from the
Japanese private sector and Manh told Koizumi that Vietnam was
working on improving its investment environment, news reports said.
A foreign ministry official could not be reached for confirmation.
Earlier in the day, Manh was given a red-carpet welcome in a
ceremony at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.
Manh, who took office in April 2001, is the first general secretary
of the Vietnamese Communist Party to visit Japan since 1995.
On Friday, he is scheduled to have talks with business leaders and
prominent lawmakers, including Yukio Hatoyama, leader of Japan's
opposition Democratic Party. Manh is due to return to Hanoi on
Saturday.
Last year, bilateral trade totalled $4.72 billion, while Japan was
the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam after Singapore and
Taiwan.
Japan was also Vietnam's biggest development aid donor, extending
more than $7.3 billion in loans and grants, including over 83
billion in the year to March alone.
Agence France Presse - October 3rd, 2002
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