The Vietnamese PM’s first official visit to Japan takes place in the context that the relationship between the two countries is at best stage of mutual trust.

Viet Nam has always been a close and trusted friend of Japan, advocating Japan to uphold its role in the region and the world.

Viet Nam will join hand with Japan to make contributions to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and is willing to open a more practical and effective development phase in all sectors, particularly in spheres of economics, security-defense, local-to-local and people-to-people exchanges with Japan.

The Southeast Asian nation is ready to boost coordination in key sectors such as economics, health, vaccines and COVID-19 treatment drug as well as enhance defense cooperation and accelerate collaboration in issues of common concerns at multi-lateral forums with Japan.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Glasgow, Scotland on the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conferences of the Parties (COP26).

The two PMs were pleased at the robust and comprehensive growth of the Viet Nam-Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, and agreed to work closely together to organize practical activities to mark the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2023.

They discussed a range of regional and international issues of shared interest such as climate change and coordination at multilateral forums.

The pair agreed to coordinate closely to further strengthen the Viet Nam-Japan ties for the benefits of the two countries, thus contributing to shared prosperity in the region and the world.

Japan-Viet Nam’s partner of top importance

Viet Nam and Japan established diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973, upgrading bilateral ties to Strategic Partnership in 2009, and to Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia in 2014.

Japan is currently the largest official development assistance (ODA) provider for Viet Nam with JPY 2,578 billion (or US$23.76 billion).

As of September 20, 2021, Japanese investors poured US$63.85 billion in 4,748 FDI projects in Viet Nam, ranking second among 140 nations and territories investing in the country.

Over the first nine months of 2021, as many as 131 newly-registered projects, worth US$3.26 billion, were invested in Viet Nam by Japanese investors.

The bilateral trade value hit US$31 billion in the first nine months of 2021, marking Japan as the fourth largest trade partner of Viet Nam.

In 2019, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Viet Nam ranked third, with 951,962 visitors, up 15.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Regarding labor cooperation, Currently, Viet Nam ranks first in the number of foreign trainees in Japan with nearly 220,000 people.

The number of overseas Vietnamese in Japan is estimated at nearly 450,000 people while approximately 20,000 Japanese citizens are living in Viet Nam.