Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin
on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Photo by Vietnam News Agency. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met leaders of Russia and Germany on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Japan. 

In a brief exchange, PM Phuc and Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday reaffirmed their commitments to promote the two nations’ comprehensive strategic partnership, particularly in oil and gas, energy and technology. It was the second meeting between the two leaders this year after PM Phuc’s official visit to Moscow in May.

Also Saturday, Phuc met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who hailed the bilateral efforts to promote the strategic partnership between the two countries. The leaders also affirmed their commitment to continue strengthening bilateral ties in more comprehensive and substantive ways.

Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019.
Photo by Vietnam News Agency.

The Vietnamese premier also met with Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, the U.N. Secretary-General, and the presidents of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ACB).

The 2019 G20 Osaka summit, taking place on the 28th and 29th of June, is the 14th meeting of the forum of 19 countries and the EU that together represent most of the world economy. Vietnam is among the invited guests this year.

On the sidelines of the Osaka event, PM Phuc also received representatives of leading Japanese corporations who have invested or plan to invest in Vietnam.

He welcomed the cooperation between Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and Japan’s energy giant JXTG Group. JXTG has been a stakeholder and a strategic partner of Vietnam’s key energy corporation since 2016.

JXTG chairman Tsutomu Sugimori briefly described a project it plans to execute in partnership with Petrolimex to help Vietnam diversify its petroleum supply chain, ensure energy security and provide its domestic market with high quality petroleum products that meet environmental standards.

In a talk with leaders of Marubeni Corporation, which has been running several major electricity projects in Vietnam, including the Thai Binh 1 Thermal Power Plant and the upcoming Nghi Son 2 Thermal Power Plant, the Vietnamese PM encouraged it to prioritize modern, environment-friendly technology when investing in Vietnam.

Marubeni has expressed interest in electricity production using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other sectors such as large-scale water treatment plants, distribution, e-commerce, sports, entertainment, healthcare, and the development of smart cities. The firm is building an instant coffee plant and a packaging factory in Vietnam. 

Vietnam PM Phuc with Nobiru Adachi, chairman of J Trust Bank in Osaka, Japan.
Photo by Vietnam Government Portal.

PM Phuc concluded Saturday afternoon with a meeting with J Trust Bank, an experienced financial establishment that expects to join in the process of bank restructuring in Vietnam.

The prime minister welcomed J Trust's desire to bring Japanese small and medium enterprises to Vietnam as the country aims to establish one million businesses by 2020.

Japan has been the biggest investor in Vietnam, pouring in $8.59 billion or 24.2 percent of the country’s total FDI in 2018, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Last year, Vietnam became the top ASEAN recipient of Japanese investment, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA) reported.