New chapter in Vietnam-Japan friendly relations and cooperation

The State visit to Vietnam made by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko has marked a historic milestone and acts as a very meaningful symbol for the friendship between the two nations, opening-up a new chapter in the extensive friendly relations and partnership between Vietnam and Japan, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

For that reason, the State and people of Vietnam are very pleased to welcome the first visit of the Japanese Emperor and Empress to the Southeast Asian nation, PM Phuc said during an interview granted to Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest national daily newspapers.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Japan is widely known as a modern and beautiful country imbued with historical and cultural traditions, he said, adding that under the reign of the Emperor and Empress and the leadership of the government, Japan has risen above hardships to develop strongly into one of the world’s leading economies and become a model of success for the innovative and creative spirit in the cause of national development.

The PM noted that while experiencing ups and downs in history, the Vietnamese and Japanese nations have developed close bonds and built up a fine friendly relationship with numerous similarities in culture and human values, while mentioning Hoi An Ancient Town in the central province of Quang Nam as a place closely associated with early Vietnam-Japan contact.

Valuable contributions and support from the Japanese government, people and investors play an indispensable part in the socio-economic development achievements that Vietnam has attained over the past years, he affirmed.

He stated that the relationship between Vietnam and Japan is currently at its best point in history, with the establishment of an extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in March 2014 and the adoption of a statement on a joint vision for Vietnam-Japan relations in September 2015 as crucial landmarks that have helped to create a solid premise for the development of comprehensive and practical relations between the two countries across perse fields.

Over the past years, political trust between Vietnam and Japan has been reinforced through the regular exchange of high-ranking visits and meetings as well as the establishment and effective implementation of many dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, PM Phuc said, adding that the two countries have also recorded flourishing cooperation in terms of security, defence, agriculture, labour, and climate change adaptation.

Bilateral people-to-people and tourism exchange activities have taken place in an animated fashion, with nearly 30 pairs of localities setting up twinning relations and the number of Japanese visitors being the third largest among the total number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam in 2016.

The two nations have also paid attention to education cooperation, manifested through the establishment and operation of the Vietnam-Japan University since September 2016 under the active and responsible support from the two governments. Vietnam also created favourable conditions for Japanese investors in the field of tertiary education by licensing the establishment of the Tokyo Vietnam Medical University in the northern province of Hung Yen in 2015, the government leader said.

Japan is Vietnam’s largest ODA provider, fourth-largest bilateral trade partner and second-biggest foreign investor with more than 1,600 Japanese enterprises currently operating in Vietnam with a total registered capital of up to USD 42 billion.

Vietnam and Japan have a large number of opportunities to foster bilateral ties in the future, PM said, recalling that in the visit to Vietnam made by Japanese PM Shinzo Abe early this year, the two sides agreed to continue facilitating bilateral relations in an extensive, effective and comprehensive manner, particularly in terms of economics, human resource training, cultural exchange, people-to-people exchange and enhancement of mutual understanding.

Mentioning the rapidly increasing number of Vietnamese people living in Japan, PM Phuc voiced his pleasure to see the increasingly close exchanges between the two countries’ peoples.

2016 saw over 740,000 Japanese arrivals to Vietnam and more than 200,000 Vietnamese arrivals to Japan. There are currently over 170,000 Vietnamese people living, working and studying in the “land of the rising sun”, including some 60,000 overseas students and 72,000 interns.

The Vietnamese people in Japan and the Japanese people in Vietnam function as bridges of friendship bringing the two nations closer to each other, the PM affirmed.

He expressed his wish that the two governments will continue working with each other to support the two countries’ citizens to overcome difficulties and barriers concerning language, cultural understanding, customs and laws, in order to integrate into the native communities, stabilise their lives and contribute actively to the socio-economic life of each country./.

VNF/NDO