The delegation from Tay Ninh Province joined the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum, themed “Comprehensive Development Partnership – Building a Sustainable Future,” which was attended by Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who delivered a keynote address.

Also in attendance were: Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan; leaders of central ministries and agencies, Heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad; and leaders from 31 provinces and cities nationwide. On the Japanese side, the Japanese Prime Minister sent a congratulatory message. The Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam attended, along with leaders and representatives from 16 Japanese localities, organizations, associations, and businesses from Japan, as well as Japanese partners operating in Vietnam. From Tay Ninh province, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Quyet, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Huynh Van Son, and leaders of various departments and sectors were present.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh takes a commemorative photo with delegates attending the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum, including Tay Ninh Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Van Quyet. (Photo: Thanh Long)

In his opening remarks, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung emphasized the expectation that local authorities of both countries will play a more proactive and dynamic role in realizing, concretizing, and deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework between Vietnam and Japan. Turning high-level commitments and agreements into specific local projects and programs not only deepens cooperative relations but also brings tangible benefits to the people of both nations. With the motto “diplomacy serving development, focusing on people, localities, and businesses”, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its representative missions in Japan will continue to closely accompany and provide maximum support for localities and businesses of both countries in connecting, sharing information, and promoting cooperative implementation, aiming for comprehensive, effective, and sustainable development in the future.

In his directive speech at the Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum, themed “Comprehensive Development Partnership – Building a Sustainable Future”, holds practical and strategic significance, embodying the spirit of win-win cooperation and aiming for a sustainable future. Based on over 1,300 years of people-to-people exchange and more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, the bilateral relationship has developed substantively, reliably, and effectively. Japan is currently Vietnam's leading economic partner, ranking first in ODA and labor, third in investment, and fourth in trade and tourism; notably, after upgrading to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, bilateral cooperation has made strong progress. The Prime Minister appreciated the contributions of Japanese localities and businesses to Vietnam's socio-economic development, emphasizing that local and business cooperation is a distinctive feature that adds depth and effectiveness to the bilateral relationship. He also shared an overview of Vietnam's socio-economic situation, investment, and business environment, affirming that there is still ample room for Vietnam-Japan cooperation in many fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Forum. (Photo: Thanh Long)

To better leverage these potentials, the Prime Minister suggested several major directions: localities from both countries need to be proactive and creative, leveraging complementary strengths to enhance cooperation; actively listen to the business community to build favorable policies for connectivity and investment; promote initiatives on cultural exchange, tourism, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, climate change response, and resource management. The Prime Minister called on Japanese localities and businesses to continue their support and engagement with Vietnam; he also expressed confidence that the first Forum would become an important milestone, creating a “new impetus” to propel the Vietnam-Japan relationship towards strong, substantive, effective, and mutually beneficial development.

For Tay Ninh Province, the Vietnam-Japan Local Forum is being organized in the context of the successful business trip of Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Van Quyet to Japan, providing new momentum to promote substantive cooperation between the province and its Japanese partners. Japan is currently one of Tay Ninh's key economic partners, with 176 FDI projects totaling over 1.26 billion USD, ranking fourth among 40 countries and territories that have invested in the province, spanning various key sectors. On this foundation, Tay Ninh aims to open a new phase of comprehensive cooperation, focusing on breakthrough sectors such as high technology, electronics – semiconductors, logistics, digital transformation, high-tech agriculture, and clean energy. With the spirit of “sincere cooperation – sustainable development – aiming for the future”, the province expects the program to create many specific, practical cooperation opportunities, contributing to the socio-economic development of Tay Ninh and strengthening ties with Japanese partners.

Tay Ninh province pays a courtesy call on the Japanese Ambassador in Vietnam.

On the occasion of the Forum, the Tay Ninh delegation had an important meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki. During the meeting, Tay Ninh Province presented an overview of its potential, strengths, and investment environment, also sharing notable results from its recent business trip to Japan. The province hopes the Ambassador will support deeper cooperation with Japanese localities and businesses, especially in investment attraction, supporting industries, high-tech agriculture, logistics, tourism, and human resource training. The province also requested the Ambassador's support in promoting major Japanese investment projects in Tay Ninh, such as the F1 racing project, and strengthening connections with JETRO, JICA, and reputable Japanese organizations to expand cooperation opportunities in the future.

The Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam highly appreciated Tay Ninh's proactive and open-minded efforts, as well as its clear development orientation in expanding cooperation with Japan. The Ambassador affirmed that Japan always values its friendship with Vietnam and is ready to support Tay Ninh in connecting with Japanese localities, businesses, and organizations that align with the province's development needs, while expressing readiness to accompany in investment promotion, economic-trade cooperation, and support high-quality human resource training to meet the needs of Japanese businesses in Tay Ninh. Additionally, the Ambassador suggested the province refine specific proposals for more effective embassy support.

Successfully participating in a series of activities with Japanese partners demonstrates Tay Ninh's determination to integrate and expand international cooperation, while also opening up more opportunities for investment, trade, and sustainable development connections with Japanese localities and businesses in the future.