Viet Nam welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s first foreign visit to the Southeast Asian country, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang at a press conference on Thursday.

The visit is a clear evidence of the fine, robust and substantive growth of the Viet Nam-Japan extensive strategic partnership, Hang emphasized.

She expressed hope that the visit would make positive contributions to further advancement of the bilateral ties as well as post-Coronavirus economic recovery in respective countries.

Suga will be the second consecutive Prime Minister of Japan to choose Viet Nam for the first foreign trip. His predecessor, Abe Shinzo, also chose Viet Nam as the first country to visit when he began second office term in December 2012.

Suga is expected to hold talks with PM Phuc and meet with other Vietnamese senior leaders to discuss cooperation on a wide range of areas such as trade, investment, labor, education-training, defense, peace-keeping operations among others, Hang said.

Both sides will also compare notes on regional and international issues of shared concerns, she added./.