Addressing the opening ceremony, vice chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, Nguyen The Hung, said Japan became Vietnam’s leading trade partner last year with a two-way trade turnover of more than US$33.4 billion.

Japanese businesses have registered to invest around US$5.8 billion in about 900 projects in Hanoi, said Mr Hung.

The promotional week is one of the activities marking 45 years of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties. It aims to promote domestic brands and products, Vietnamese tourism, culture and cuisine to Japanese and Vietnamese people in Japan, trade and connectivity between the two countries’ businesses, and directly send Vietnamese products to the AEON chain of distribution.

Fourteen domestic businesses operating in agriculture, processed food, tea, coffee, cocoa, fresh coconut, herbal soap, essential oil, saffron starch, chili, functional food, bags, and fine arts and handicrafts joined the event.

During the week, from June 7-10, there were trade exchanges between Vietnamese businesses and AEON importers, performances of Vietnamese traditional arts, and a presentation of Vietnamese cuisine.

Vietnamese goods were displayed and sold at 40 shops in the AEON retail network.