Illustrative image. (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Japan will help the MekongDelta province of Ben Tre to establish a climate-resilient agricultural valuechain, said the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Office in Vietnamon March 12.
The JICA Office in Vietnam has signed a tripartite agreementwith the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Office in Ho Chi Minh Cityand Ben Tre province which promotes cooperation in three specific areas – establishment of a climate-resilient agricultural value chain; improvement of investmentenvironment and promotion of high quality investment in Ben Tre, particularlythose by Japanese enterprises; and personnel training foragricultural development and investment promotion via Japanese culturalexchanges and language courses within the framework of JICA and JETRO’sprogrammes.
The JICA will actively implement results of ODA projects andsurveys under the Japanese Enterprises Proposing Programme while the JETRO willprovide support and information for Japanese firms investing in Ben Tre.
The JICA has been providing Ben Tre with both “structural” (infrastructuredevelopment under loan projects) and "non-structural" (policy andtechnical assistance) support, such as the “Ben Tre Water Management” loanproject aiming to help the province tackle climate change issues, likesaltwater intrusion and shortage of freshwater, by constructing water sluicegates and related facilities.
Under the framework of cooperation with the Vietnam Academy ofSocial Sciences (VASS), the JICA has also been providing Ben Tre withconsultancy in formulating agriculture development policies.
In the near future, the JICA and JETRO will work as a bridgefor information sharing between the parties and jointly promote investment andeconomic development in different provinces in Vietnam.
Ben Tre is known for an advantageous location foragro-fishery production such as coconut or shrimp farming. The province viewsagriculture as a key economic sector and also focuses on promotion of bothdomestic and foreign investment.
Compared to other provinces in the vicinity of Ho Chi MinhCity, Ben Tre also has great potential with abundant and low-cost humanresources and is one of the provinces providing a large pool of apprentices forJapan./.
VNA
