Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted welcome ceremony for Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at the Presidential Palace in Ha Noi on Monday morning. 

Updating...

Photo: VGP

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide arrived in Ha Noi on October 18, starting his three-day official visit to Viet Nam. This is his first foreign trip since he assumed his post on September 16.

Photo: VGP

Speaking ahead of his Viet Nam visit, Prime Minister Suga said: “I would like to show a resolve to contribute to peace and prosperity in the region toward realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide
inspect the Guard of Honor. Photo: VGP

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Ham said the Viet Nam-Japan relationship has become a model of friendship and win-win partnership, creating a foundation for cooperation in ensuring stability and peace in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Meanwhile, former Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong expressed his belief that the visit indicates Suga’s resolve to further deepen the extensive strategic partnership with Viet Nam across all fields, especially, economic, trade and investment areas.

Photo: VGP

Carlyle Thayer, an Australian professor said Prime Minister’s prospective visits to Viet Nam and Indonesia are to demonstrate the continuity in Japan’s relations with the Southeast Asia and give assurance to Suga’s continued support for former Prime Minister Abe’s free and open Indo-Pacific.

Following the welcome ceremony, the two Prime Ministers walk to
the Government Office for their bilateral talks. Photo: VGP

Japan is one of the top economic partners of Viet Nam and the first G7 country to recognize Viet Nam’s market economy status in October 2011.

Prime Minister Suga is the second foreign Government leader to have visited
Viet Nam since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: VGP

The Northeast Asian country is also the biggest provider of official development assistance, the third biggest tourism source market, and the fourth largest trading partner of Viet Nam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide pose
for family photo before their bilateral talks at the Government Office. Photo: VGP

The two-way trade stood at US$28.6 billion in the first nine months this year, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide hold talks.
Photo: VGP

As of September this year, Viet Nam housed 4,595 Japan-funded projects with total registered capital of US%59.87 billion, making Japan the second biggest investor in the Southeast Asian country.

In January-September period, the total investment inflows from Japan reached US$1.73 billion, said the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Japanese delegation. Photo: VGP

As of December 2019, Japan provided around US$23.76 billion in official development assistance, accounting for 26.3% of the Government’s foreign loans.

The Vietnamese side. Photo: VGP

On labor cooperation, Viet Nam has sent more than 230,000 interns to Japan since 1992 and both countries have signed various documents to institutionalize cooperation in this area.

Regarding tourism, the number of Japanese tourists rose by 15.2% to nearly 952,000 in 2019, reported the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism.

From January 1, 2014, Japanese visitors who arrive in Viet Nam for tourism and business purposes shall not have to obtain visa if the period of stay is 15 days or less./.