(VOVworld)- An agreement to hold international fairs and business connectivity programmes for Vietnam’s support industry was signed in Ho Chi Minh City on June 15.

Signatories were the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Reed Tradex company of Thailand.  Isara Burintramart, Reed Tradex Executive Director, said Vietnam is a destination attractive to foreign investors with more than 16,300 valid foreign-invested projects worth 238 billion USD.  JETRO Chief Representative in Ho Chi Minh City Hirokata Yasuzumi called for raising domestic supply, adding that JETRO will give priority to new exhibitors who are yet to join any support industry’s business alliance fairs, not only those from Ho Chi Minh City but also adjacent provinces.

Apart from firms in Vietnam, those from ASEAN and Japan are expected to join fairs as buyers, including the International Machine Tools & Metalworking Solution Show (Metalex Vietnam), the Business Alliance for Supporting Industry exhibition, Vietnam’s Only Exhibition on SMT, (Testing Technologies, Equipment, and Supporting Industries for Electronics Manufacturing) – Nepcon Vietnam, Industrial Components and Subcontracting Vietnam (ICSV) slated for October 6-8 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre.

The exhibitions and fairs are also expected to boost ties between the ten ASEAN member states and China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and Australia