Vietnam and Japan elevate extensive strategic partnership


A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has successfully concluded an official visit to Japan, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. PM Pham Minh Chinh’s visit reaffirmed the determination of Vietnam and Japan to lift the Vietnam - Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia to a new height in a more substantial and effective manner.

PM Pham Minh Chinh is the first foreign leader to visit Japan after the establishment of the new government in Japan. Towards the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, the two sides are delighted about outstanding achievements in all fields over the past half century, bringing bilateral relations to a stage of the best development. The two sides also affirmed their belief in the bright future of Vietnam-Japan relations.

CLOSE AND RELIABLE PARTNERS


At the meetings within the framework of the official visit to Japan of the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the two sides welcomed the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of the bilateral relations in many fields; affirming that Japan and Vietnam are important partners to each other and share many strategic interests. The two sides believed that the Vietnam-Japan Extensive Strategic Partnership has great potential for further development. Japan acknowledged Vietnam’s increasing role and constructive contribution to international and regional issues; affirming the importance of Vietnam in Japan's foreign policy within the Indo-Pacific region. Vietnam affirmed Japan's role as an important and long-term partner of Vietnam, and expressed its wish that Japan would continue to play an active and constructive role in international and regional issues.

“Vietnam and Japan are close and reliable friends and partners in many fields. It can be said that Vietnam-Japan relations are at the best stages of development.”
“Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh”

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

The visits and contacts between the two countries' senior leaders have been maintained regularly, contributing to strengthening political relations. Dynamic economic, trade and investment cooperation has contributed to promoting the connection between the two economies. The two sides also made substantial progress in bilateral cooperation in many fields, including security, agriculture, science and technology, education and training, environment, climate change response, labour, construction, information technology and communications, health, culture, tourism, sports, local and people-to-people exchanges.

Vietnam expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan and the Japanese people for the effective support for its socio-economic development and poverty reduction efforts through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) during the past 30 years. Vietnam expressed appreciation for the active role and contribution that Japanese companies have made to the development of its economy and nation building process.

Vietnam-Japan relations have achieved outstanding development steps over the past years, and are now at the best-ever stage in history. Japan attaches great importance to its relations with Vietnam, and highly appreciates Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements as well as its increasingly important role and position in the region and the world as well.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio

JOINING HANDS TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES


In the context when the COVID-19 pandemic, as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented impacts on the socio-economy of countries around the world including Vietnam and Japan, the two Prime Ministers consented to work closely together on COVID-19 measures.

Prime Minister Kishida announced that the Government of Japan will provide an additional 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Government of Vietnam. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his gratitude and high appreciation to the Government of Japan and the Japanese people for sharing COVID-19 vaccines that will amount to 5.6 million doses in total as well as a generous amount of medical equipment and materials. Both sides consented to continually work closely on research and production of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

WORKING TOGETHER TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RECOVERY


As reliable partners, Vietnam and Japan announced that they will continue to strengthen cooperation, making effective and substantive contributions to the socio-economic development in each country. Japan highly appreciated Vietnam’s strategic orientations and directions as reflected in its 10-year Socio-economic Development Strategy for 2021-2030. Vietnam praised Prime Minister Kishida's new economic strategy for a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution and expressed confidence that the strategy would lead Japan to a new and stable stage of development.

Vietnam and Japan consented to further facilitate business collaborations between Japanese and Vietnamese companies as well as improving the investment environment for companies through cooperation in such areas as digital transformation, diversification of the production base and development of supporting industries towards resilient global supply chains, throughout both countries, which are keys for post COVID-19 economic revitalisation. Both sides will continue cooperating in industrial development, and will consider expanding the scope of cooperation in training and consultation on kaizen, business matching, and the capacity building for Vietnamese manufacturers to enable them to join Japanese companies’ supply chain in Vietnam, in the region and the world.

Sharing the perceptions of digital transformation and the development of the digital economy, as digital societies will play an important role in the post COVID-19 era, the two sides consented to strengthen cooperation in creative innovation, ICT, digital transformation, digital economy, realization of smart cities through project formation studies, the development of broadband infrastructure including 5G, and information security.

While meeting with representatives of Japanese firms and investors, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed Japanese companies to choose Vietnam as an investment destination and reaffirmed Vietnam's commitment to create an open and transparent investment environment and create a favourable environment for companies to conduct businesses. The two Prime Ministers consented to continue to work closely together to resolve difficulties in implementing Japan's ODA projects in Vietnam and to promote regional connectivity as well as priority infrastructure projects, which contribute to the development of industrial infrastructure.

The two countries consented to actively promote post COVID-19 recovery ODA programmes which addressed emerging needs and interests of the two countries, with focus on notably the four fields: transport infrastructure, climate change infrastructure, healthcare and digital transformation.

JICA will take a successful model to support the construction of large hospitals in Vietnam over the years as an example, to build 100 others in various countries.
President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kitaoka Shinichi

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kitaoka Shinichi (Photo: Thanh Giang)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Kitaoka Shinichi (Photo: Thanh Giang)

Vietnam and Japan consented to promote tourism cooperations, facilitate travel, so that tourism statistics can soon be restored to 1.5 million which is the same level as before the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible, and increase tourism exchanges even more than before. The leaders of the two countries also confirmed to continue discussions for early mutual recognition of vaccination certificates between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, former Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Nikai Toshihiro attend the ceremony to export Unshu tangerines from Japan to Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, former Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Nikai Toshihiro attend the ceremony to export Unshu tangerines from Japan to Vietnam.

11 documents were signed and exchanged between the ministries, branches, agencies and businesses of the two countries:

  • Agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam and Japanese Ministry of Justice;
  • Exchange of Notes of non-project for “specialized transport equipment serving for maritime search and rescue activities”;
  • Exchange of Notes for the fourth Japanese ODA loan for the Ho Chi Minh City water environment improvement project in Tau Hu–Ben Nghe–Doi-Te canal basin second phase;
  • Memorandum of Understanding on military medical cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence and the Japanese Ministry of Defence;
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence and the Japanese Ministry of Defence on cyber security cooperation;
  • Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening trade and industry cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and Wakayama Prefecture’s authorities of Japan;
  • Joint plan on climate change adaption towards the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Japanese Ministry of Environment;
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in the fields of land, water resources, meteorology and geographical information;
  • Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Vietnam’s Commission for the Management of State Capital for Enterprises and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC);
  • Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Department of Science, Technology and Training, under Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and Shionogi Inc., a global pharmaceutical company;
  • Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnam Association of Labour Exporters (VAMAS) and Japan’s Association for the Support and Development of Foreign Human Resources.

Vietnam and Japan exchanged many important cooperation documents. Video: Nhan Dan Television

Vietnam and Japan exchanged many important cooperation documents. Video: Nhan Dan Television

Vietnam-Japan Investment Promotion Conference

Vietnam-Japan Investment Promotion Conference

FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO NATIONS


Within the framework of the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the Vietnamese community in Japan. Expressing his emotion at the affection of overseas Vietnamese for the homeland, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised that the overseas community is an important and inseparable part as well as a driving force for the country's development. He thanked the Vietnamese community in Japan for always accompanying and sharing with the homeland through many practical and effective activities during difficult times. The Prime Minister affirmed that the Party and State always create the best conditions for overseas Vietnamese to contribute to the national construction and development.

The Vietnamese community in Japan also stated to continue to stand side by side with the Party, State and people in effective pandemic prevention and control as well as socio-economic recovery and development. They expressed confidence in the strong development and good future of the country in the coming period. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh believed that the Vietnamese community in Japan will continue to be an active and effective bridge, contributing to strengthening the friendship between the two peoples.

Sharing the view that the Vietnamese community plays an important role in Japan's economic and social development, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed that the two countries would work closely to expand the reception of Vietnamese workers to Japan and improve the living conditions and social security of Vietnamese interns and students.

Official welcome ceremony for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Official welcome ceremony for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION


In the Joint Statement toward the opening of a new era in the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation at regional and international forums, such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the ASEAN-Japan Summit and others to actively contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and thoughout the world. Emphasising that Vietnam and ASEAN are important partners, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said that Japan is ready to support and cooperate on the principle of respecting the central role of ASEAN. Asserting the importance of sustainable management and development of the Mekong River, the two Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen coordination to improve the efficiency and role of the Mekong-Japan cooperation.

The two Prime Ministers also agreed to further promote free trade, including upholding the standards of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and full implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) scheduled to come into force in 2022.

Regarding cooperation in sustainable development and response to climate change, the two sides reaffirmed their determination to implement global agreements and commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. In order to fulfil the above commitments, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of green transformation, emission reduction, capacity to build in response to climate change and environmental protection.

“With the efforts, consensus and high trust of both sides, Vietnam and Japan will continue to uphold the good development momentum of the extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, making positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.”.
“Minister Pham Minh Chinh”

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Governor Tochigi Prefecture Fukuda Tomikazu, together with other delegates, pose for a photo on November 23.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Governor Tochigi Prefecture Fukuda Tomikazu, together with other delegates, pose for a photo on November 23.

Production manager: NGOC THANH, NINH SON
Content: DINH TRUONG, NHU NGOC
Translation: NDO
Design: DIEU THU, PHUONG NAM, BIEN DIEU
Photos: THANH GIANG, VNA, VGP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs