Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Government left Hanoi for Japan on May 26 for a visit to the country and to attend the expanded G7 Summit Japan 2016.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

This is the first visit to Japan by Nguyen Xuan Phuc as head of the Vietnamese Government. It takes place in the context that the “extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia” between Vietnam and Japan is thriving.

The trip, which is made at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, aims to affirm Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of deepening the bilateral ties, for the interests of the two countries’ people, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.

During his stay in Japan, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc is scheduled to attend a high-level economic policy dialogue between Vietnam and Japan, attend the expanded G7 Summit Japan and hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties with in 1963.

The two countries upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2009, and to an extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2014.

Japan has become one of Vietnam’s leading important economic partners.

It is now the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam, with two-way trade hitting over 28 billion USD last year and about 6.4 billion USD in the first quarter of this year.

The country ranks second among 114 countries and territories worldwide investing in Vietnam, with over 3,000 direct investment projects worth over 39 billion USD as of April 20, 2016.

Japan remains the largest provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, making up about 30 percent of the total ODA committed by international communities for the Southeast Asian country.

Japan is the first G7 member country to have established a strategic partnership with Vietnam and recognised Vietnam’s market economy.

VNA