Senior government officials of Thailand and Vietnam urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to encourage Japanese investment in their growing industries, including in the medical and farming sectors, on top of existing railway and infrastructure development projects, Japanese officials said.
In a brief meeting with Abe on the sidelines of an international conference in Tokyo, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said he hopes to see increased Japanese investment in new industries such as the medical sector under his country's new incentive strategy to encourage investment, the officials said.
Pridiyathorn also expressed hope over Japan's role in high-speed railway development in the Southeast Asian country and the development of the Dawei Special Economic Zone in southern Myanmar, a joint project between Thailand and Myanmar, they said.
Abe, recognizing the important ties between Japan and Thailand, noted that he wants to move forward the railway and infrastructure development projects, the officials said.
In a separate meeting with Abe, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh was quoted as saying he hopes to see Japanese firms investing in the farming sector of Vietnam, given that 70 percent of the population in his country are involved in farming.
Abe also met Indonesian Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla and the two agreed to boost cooperation on the Southeast Asian country's infrastructure building, the officials said.
The deputy prime ministers and vice president are in Japan to attend the conference on Thursday and Friday.
Japan has been offering support for infrastructure development to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — of which Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are part — to help the regional bloc's efforts to increase regional connectivity as they try to establish a more integrated ASEAN Economic Community this year.