The Vietnamese government has “absolute confidence in Japanese nuclear technology,” Vietnam’s Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh told the Mainichi during a recent interview, speaking on the selection of a Japanese group of companies to build nuclear power plants in the Southeast Asian nation.
Despite the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis, Nguyen also emphasized that Vietnam would proceed with discussions on the nuclear technology deal as planned, stating the disaster “does not change our cooperation with Japan.” Vietnam agreed to commission two Japanese-built reactors in the southern province of Ninh Thuan during a Japan-Vietnam leaders’ summit in October 2010.
Furthermore, “Japan and Vietnam are strategic partners, and there are many sectors where we can compliment one another for the economic development of both countries,” Nguyen stated, referring to a broad range of bilateral initiatives including continued planning for a joint rare earth development project in northern Vietnam.
The ambassador also revealed the Japanese government has offered his nation an electronic customs system, and that Vietnam is “proactively considering” the offer.
