On the afternoon of December 5, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man held discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed Vietnam's view of Japan as one of its foremost and long-term strategic partners. He emphasized Vietnam's support for Japan's active role in promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and beyond.

Prime Minister Ishiba highlighted the robust relationship between Vietnam and Japan, underpinned by strong ties among their top leaders. Reflecting on his visit to Vietnam 35 years ago, he expressed optimism about Vietnam's continued development and its potential to become a leading nation in Asia.

During their meeting, the two sides agreed to enhance collaboration in human resource development, including labor cooperation, high-quality workforce training, and people-to-people exchanges. Vietnam committed to sending more workers to Japan to help address Japan's aging population.

Both leaders agreed to facilitate opportunities for Vietnamese citizens living, studying, and working in Japan.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man requested Japan's continued support for Vietnam's industrialization and modernization efforts. He encouraged Japan to expand its investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, clean energy, renewable energy, high-tech agriculture, green transition, digital transformation, data centers, and semiconductors.

Vietnam also sought Japan's assistance in integrating into the global semiconductor supply chain and expediting new-generation Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects.

In a separate meeting, Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Japanese Senate President Sekiguchi Masakazu discussed measures to deepen bilateral relations.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that relations between the two countries are at their strongest, marked by high political trust and close exchanges at all levels. President Sekiguchi expressed confidence that this year marks the beginning of a new chapter in their 50-year partnership. He affirmed the Japanese Senate’s commitment to furthering bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the substantial achievements in economic, trade, labor, cultural, and human resource exchanges, as well as local-level cooperation. Japan remains Vietnam’s largest ODA donor, second-largest labor cooperation partner, third-largest investor, third-largest tourism partner, and fourth-largest trading partner.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man welcomed Japan’s new policies on foreign labor, including the introduction of a “training-work” system to replace the previous “skills internship” program. He encouraged Japan to expand occupational categories and increase the intake of Vietnamese trainees.

The leaders also underscored the importance of parliamentary cooperation as a key pillar of bilateral relations. The National Assembly of Vietnam and the Japanese Senate signed a cooperation agreement to enhance legislative collaboration both bilaterally and multilaterally.

Both sides agreed to strengthen exchanges among legislators, particularly young and female parliamentarians, and to capitalize on the Friendship Parliamentary Alliance as a bridge to promote people-to-people exchanges, business cooperation, and local partnerships.

They also committed to supporting each other at multilateral forums and mechanisms to foster mutual interests and shared goals.

Tran Thuong