President Tran Dai Quang acknowledged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s role in and devotion to nurturing the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership at a meeting in Hanoi on January 16.

Welcoming Abe’s official visit to Vietnam, President Quang noted with satisfaction the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of the extensive strategic partnership with high political trust.

Vietnam attaches importance to all-round cooperation with Japan and considers this a priority in its foreign policy, he said.

He added his country warmly welcomes the first State visit by the Japanese Emperor and Queen and regards the trip as an important symbol of bilateral ties. Vietnamese agencies are working closely with the Japanese side to prepare for the visit.

The host also repeated an invitation to PM Abe to attend the APEC Summit slated for November 2017 in Vietnam.

He highly valued the outcomes of the talks between the Vietnamese and Japanese PMs, adding that the common perceptions they reached at this event will be a new driving force for the extensive strategic partnership.

The two countries should maintain high-level visits and meetings, increase delegation exchanges between ministries, sectors and localities, and enhance people-to-people links, he noted.

They should also bolster result-oriented cooperation in defence-security, such as the Japanese Government’s assistance to Vietnam to improve the capacity of its law enforcement force at sea.

President Quang asked both sides to beef up partnership in investment, trade, ODA provision and in the fields they have potential in and can support each other like labour, agriculture, education-training, locality-to-locality cooperation, and tourism. They need to continue close coordination and mutual support at international and regional forums such as the United Nations, the East Asia Summit, ASEAN Plus, APEC, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

At the meeting, PM Shinzo Abe reiterated his Government’s wish to intensify the extensive strategic partnership with Vietnam. He agreed with the Vietnamese President’s opinions on measures to augment bilateral relations.

He thanked the Southeast Asian nation for actively preparing for the State visit by the Japanese Emperor and Queen, stressing that his country also considers this visit as a symbol of their friendship and all-faceted cooperation.

The Japanese Government is ready and pledges to cooperate comprehensively with Vietnam in APEC initiatives. It will also give wholehearted support to the country to successfully organise APEC events throughout 2017, he added.

Party chief affirms consistent policy of deepening ties with Japan

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of further deepening its extensive strategic partnership with Japan for the benefit of the two countries’ people and for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world. 

During a reception in Hanoi on January 16 for visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Party leader suggested the two sides continue to strengthen political trust via the maintenance of regular exchanges and meetings at all levels, especially visits between senior leaders of the two States, governments and legislatures, as well as intensify people-to-people exchanges. 

He spoke highly of the practical and effective support that Japan has provided for Vietnam’s socio-economic development over the past years, especially its official development assistance to Vietnam in the fields of high-quality infrastructure and human resources training, support industry, agriculture, and climate change response. 

The Vietnamese leaders and people highly value the upcoming visit by the Japanese Emperor and Empress, he said, adding that it will mark a new milestone that further deepens bilateral ties and friendship between the two peoples. 

Abe, for his part, informed the host about the outcomes of talks with his Vietnamese counterpart. 

He affirmed that Japan continues prioritising ODA to Vietnam and wishes to enhance coordination in infrastructure development and high-quality human resources training.

He said he also wants to enhance collaboration with Vietnam to contribute to maintain peace, stability, security, safety, development and prosperity in the region and the world. 

The guest believed that the visit between the two countries’ leaders, especially the upcoming one by the Japanese Emperor and Empress will lift Japan-Vietnam ties to a new height.

Japanese PM treasures relations with Vietnam

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a press conference on January 16

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a press conference on January 16 after meeting with Vietnamese leaders that he always attaches much importance to the relationship with Vietnam.

“This was the reason I chose Vietnam as one of the Asian countries I visited during my trip early this year,” said he.

The PM affirmed Japan would continue to assist Vietnam’s economic development.

“For the long-term, Japan and Japanese businesses will continue to provide assistance for the economic development of Vietnam,” he said.

He said his government will pursue a foreign policy with a strong base in the Asia-Pacific region with a widening vision. Japan and Vietnam are neighbours attached by a free sea together with the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia, he added. 

“The nations which I visit this time are important neighbouring countries sharing an open and free sea named the Pacific, and sharing basic values with Japan and the principles of marine security, safety and freedom,” he noted.

To implement the principles, laws must be completely respected, he affirmed.

During the visit, Japan pledged to provide patrol ships to Vietnam and the Philippines to improve marine law enforcement.

At the press conference, the Japanese PM expressed his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

To reach common prosperity in the region, the basic foundation was trade liberalisation.

“We should create a liberalised market based on just and equal rules,” he said. “And the foundation for the trade liberalisation is the TPP”. He affirmed that Japan is leading in promoting trade liberalisation.

NA Chairwoman: Vietnam attaches importance to ties with Japan

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 

The Vietnamese National Assembly, Government and people attach special importance to the extensive strategic partnership with Japan, considering Japan a top and long-term partner, top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan assured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a reception in Hanoi on January 16. 

NA Chairwoman Ngan spoke highly of the Japanese PM’s efforts to bring about a Japanese society and global community in which women could shine. 

She also expressed her delight at the outcomes of talks between the guest and the Vietnamese PM, during which, the Japanese side pledged the continued supply of official development assistance and other additional support programmes to Vietnam, especially in coping with saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta. 

Japan is currently the top economic partner, fourth largest ODA provider, second largest investor and fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam, she said. 

The host said she is satisfied with progressing ties between the two legislatures, including the exchange of delegations and meetings on the sidelines of international conferences, and increased exchanges between the friendship parliamentarians’ alliances and young parliamentarians of the two nations. 

In order to reinforce bilateral friendship and cooperation, NA Chairwoman Ngan asked for maintaining high-level contacts between the two governments and parliaments, and wished that Japan would help Vietnam with personnel training, climate change response, investment and trade while increasing ties across culture, education and people-to-people exchange. 

Abe, in reply, called for further strengthening collaboration in many levels, including between the two law-making bodies. 

As the largest ODA provider to Vietnam, Japan wants to make maximum contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development, with a focus on high-quality infrastructure construction, he said, adding that he agrees with the host’s proposal to elevate cooperation between localities. 

On the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he informed that Japan has ratified the deal. The Vietnamese NA Chairwoman said Vietnam is actively making preparations and expects other member states to promptly adopt the pact. 

Host and guest also underscored the importance of ensuring peace, security and safety in the region, saying that parties concerned need to accelerate the settlement of disputes by peaceful means and fully respect diplomatic process and international law./.

VNA