The Vietnamese Government and people always give top priority to cooperative relations with Japan and will do their best to elevate the ties to new heights for interests of the two countries’ people and for peace and prosperity in the region and in the world, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. 

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse (R) shake hands with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

PM Phuc made the statement during a meeting with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo on June 6. The PM and his spouse have been on an official visit to Japan where he also attended the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia.

PM Phuc stressed the importance of the royal couple’s visit to Vietnam in March, saying that it marked a milestone in friendly and cooperative ties and facilitated the bilateral extensive strategic partnership in all fields, particularly in culture cooperation, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

He took this occasion to invite Japanese royal members to visit Vietnam in 2018 on the occasion of celebrations of the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The Emperor and the Empress expressed their delight to meet PM Phuc and his spouse in Tokyo and thanked the Vietnamese leaders and people for their warm hospitability during their State visit to Vietnam

Emperor Akihito said he expects the two nations to reinforce their relations and increase people-to-people exchanges, especially when Japan and Vietnam will mark 45 years of diplomatic ties next year.

Vietnam treasures Japan’s ODA: PM

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with President of the Japanese House of Councillors Date Chuichi 

Vietnam always treasures and effectively uses official development assistance (ODA) provided by Japan, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc while meeting with President of the Japanese House of Councillors Date Chuichi in Tokyo on June 6.

PM Phuc affirmed that the ODA packages have contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

He stressed the need for the two legislative bodies to promote their role in supervising the Governments’ implementation of signed agreements in order to deepen the bilateral friendship and cooperation.

The Government leader suggested the two sides intensify the sharing of information and experience in legislative work, promote the bridging role of the friendship parliamentarians’ organisations, and strengthen coordination at regional and international parliamentary forums, especially the Asian-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in January 2018.

He showed his hope that the Japanese Diet continues encouraging cooperation in the labour field and between the two countries’ localities while supporting the stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on the East Sea issue.

President Date Chuichi highly valued Vietnam’s economic development in recent years, affirming that he will back the Government’s efforts to foster ties with Vietnam and support the Southeast Asian country’s socio-economic development.

He said he hopes the Vietnamese Government will continue improving its business and investment environment to encourage Japan’s investment in the country.

At the meeting, the two sides also agreed to strengthen cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, especially in 2018 when the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc is in Japan for an official visit and to attend the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia.

Japanese media highlights Vietnamese PM’s remarks

Japanese media carried stories highlighting remarks of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at conferences in Tokyo during his ongoing official visit to Japan from June 4-8.

The Sankei newspaper on June 5 underlined the PM’s speech at the opening ceremony of the investment promotion conference in Vietnam held by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

The PM said despite the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, Vietnam still wants to cooperate with Japan to reach the destination.

He also called on Japanese businesses to strengthen investment in Vietnam.

The Nikkei newspaper said in his speech at the 23rd International Conference on The Future of Asia, PM Phuc expressed his disagreement over the arising protectionism in several countries.

Regarding security and stability in Asia, the PM urged "responsible conduct on the basis of equality, mutual respect [and the] rule of law.”

He also described globalisation as an inevitable trend and stressed the importance of pursuing free trade.

“Globalisation is not merely an economic process but it also reflects the desires of humankind to reach further, pursue well-being and conquer challenges,” he said.

The Nikkei Asian Review posted an interview with PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc on its website under the title “Vietnam 'considering' options for TPP renegotiation, PM says”.

The article said “Vietnam is mulling which sections of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement can be renegotiated after the withdrawal of the US”.

"Vietnam has assigned the minister in charge of trade to discuss with other members [of the TPP] on the options for the way forward," he said on the sidelines of the annual Future of Asia conference in Tokyo. 

The goal, he added, is to find "a way to balance and harmonise the interests of the signatories."

As regards territorial disputes in the East Sea, he stressed "the shared responsibility of every country to maintain the peace in this region." 

The PM also called upon regional players to pursue "peace and friendship," "freedom of navigation" and the "rule of law."

Vietnam, Japan defence cooperation to grow further

Vietnam and Japan will exchange experience in UN peacekeeping activities and join hands to handle post-war consequences as well as promote cyberspace and maritime security.

Deputy Minister of Defence Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and his Japanese counterpart Ro Manabe reached the agreement during their meeting on June 5 as part of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Japan and attendance of the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia.

This year, Japan receives 12 trainees from Vietnam’s Ministry of Defence to pursue BA, MA, PhD in information and technology, telecommunication-electronics engineering, international relations and strategy research.

The Japanese side is working with the Vietnamese defence ministry to test dioxin settlement technology. In addition, the two sides have strengthened collaboration in sea search and rescue.

Lauding the Japanese Government’s provision of an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan to build six new patrol ships for Vietnamese Coast Guard, the Vietnamese deputy defence minister said that the move enhances maritime cooperation between the two nations.

The Vietnamese Party, Government and Army have attached importance to addressing post-war consequences, Vinh said, asking for Japan’s ODA to tackle land contaminated with Agent Orange/Dioxin at Bien Hoa airport as well as leftover bombs and mines.

At the meeting, the two defence leaders also expressed their wish to study and ink the Vietnam-Japan defence cooperation vision to plan future collaboration.

PM attends investment promotion conference in Japan

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe witnessed the hand-over of contracts, investment licences and agreements worth 22 billion USD between Vietnamese ministries, agencies, localities and businesses ​and Japanese firms at an investment promotion conference in Tokyo, Japan on June 5. 

This is the biggest ever conference on investment promotion in Vietnam held by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in conjunction with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) and the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank). 

Addressing the event, PM Phuc quoted a recent JETRO report on the Vietnamese investment environment as saying that up to 90  percent of Japanese firms believe that business expansion in Vietnam will help them gain more profits. 

At the end of 2016, over 3,200 Japanese-invested projects were valid in Vietnam with a total registered capital of  42 billion USDS, making up 15 percent of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country, he added. 

The leader called for Japanese investments in such realms as electronics, farming machines, agricultural product processing, shipbuilding, environment, energy saving and auto manufacturing. 

Speaking to 1,600 delegates, including 200 from Vietnam, the PM said he was convinced that nothing can prevent a new era of the close and trust-worthy  development cooperation between the two countries. 

The PM also invited Japanese investors to engage in M&A activities in combination with the equitisation of State-owned enterprises in such areas as transport, infrastructure, food, foodstuff, agriculture, trade, tourism and construction. 

Other sectors that Vietnam is wooing foreign investments like public-private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure and start-ups, he said.

He highlighted Vietnam’s political and social stability and macro-economy, legal institutions and improved transparency in conformity with international commitments and standards, thus creating optimal conditions for investors and businesses to operate in Vietnam for a long-term and partake in regional and global value chains. 

The leader talked about opportunities generated by the Vietnam-Japan Free Trade Agreement, under which the average tax imposed on Vietnamese exports to Japan will drop to 2.8 percent in 2018 while that on Japanese products will decline to 7 percent. 

“Vietnam pledges to create the best possible business climate, looking towards standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); reduce transaction costs; curb corruption; ease challenges regarding macro environment and policies; improve forecast capacity and practise transparency and accountability with the business community,” he stressed. 

Affirming Japan as a trust-worthy strategic partner of Vietnam, the PM said he believes that the close bilateral ties will be a foundation for development and prosperity in each nation. 

In his remarks, PM Shinzo Abe assured that he and his Vietnamese counterpart will continue their strong support for Japanese firms’ investment activities in Vietnam through high-quality infrastructure projects, investment improvement and personnel training. 

Vietnam and Japan will step up their cooperation across fields to reinforce free trade, he said, affirming his back for Vietnam’s hosting of APEC 2017. 

At the event, Japanese businesses expressed their concerns regarding such fields as finance, banking, support industry, high technologies and high-tech agriculture. 

According to JETRO Vice President Yuri Sato, one third of the surveyed Japanese firms voiced its wish to expand business in Vietnam. 

Later the same day, PM Phuc met with leaders of Mitsubishi Group and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Earlier, he attended a roundtable seminar with big Japanese investors jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietinbank and BTMU. 

The event saw the participation of leaders of major Japanese groups in high technologies, electronics, oil and gas, finance-banking, trade and retail like Canon, Panasonic, Nipro Corporation, Taisei Corp, Tokyo Gas and Idemitsu, among others. 

The Japanese firms raised proposals regarding the increase of locally-made content in industrial production in Vietnam, the development of support industry, infrastructure development and the expansion of retail market in the country.

Prime Minister meets Japanese entrepreneurs

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met representatives of many major Japanese enterprises in Tokyo on June 5, part of his official visit to Japan.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with representatives of major Japanese enterprises on June 5

The Japanese business representatives appreciated Vietnam’s development potential in various spheres, noting with satisfaction the thriving extensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

An executive of J-Power introduced the group’s strength and capacity with modern and environmentally friendly technologies, and said they want to continue investing in coal electricity in Vietnam.

Leaders of Capital Partners Securities and Daiwa Securities noted they have carried out a number of projects in securities and finance along with cultural exchanges in Vietnam. They hoped the meeting would create favourable precrequisites for their investment and cooperation activities with the country in the time ahead.

The Japanese entrepreneurs also voiced their hope that PM Phuc will continue facilitating their firms’ production and business activities in Vietnam.

At the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh applauded J-Power’s intention to expand investment in energy, adding that coal power is important to Vietnam at present since other energy sources are nearing the limit level while renewable energy is just in the initial stage in the country.

He noted the Vietnamese Government’s special attention to environmental protection in the development of coal power. 

Speaking at the working session, PM Phuc said it is a good time now for Japanese enterprises to invest in Vietnam as the two countries have reached high-level agreements on boosting cooperation. 

He described Japan as the top supplier of official development assistance, the third largest source of tourist arrivals and the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam, and bilateral cooperative potential remains huge. 

Vietnam is striving for rapid and sustainable development so that demand for energy and finance for economic growth is extremely high, he said, adding that the Vietnamese government is pursuing the goal of a transparent and constructive Cabinet which best serves investors. 

The PM affirmed to the Japanese business circle that Vietnam considers the private sector and foreign direct investment important resources for country development. 

He asked Japanese firms to work closely with the Vietnamese ministries of Planning and Investment, and Industry and Trade to accelerate projects in Vietnam, particularly those regarding infrastructure and power energy for production and consumption. 

Urging Japanese investors to engage in equitisation of State-owned enterprises in Vietnam, the leader said the government is carrying out the policy to reduce State control and withdraw capital from many areas, including energy, finance and banking, which open ups many opportunities for Japanese investors. 

PM Phuc also expressed hope to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries. 

Later, the PM hosted receptions for Yuji Nakamine, member of the board of directors and General Director for Asia, Europe, Pacific, the Middle East and Africa of Mazda, and President and CEO of Route Inn Katsutoshi Nagayama.

VNA