VietNamNet Bridge – The upcoming visit by State President Truong Tan Sang to Japan is highlighted as a significant political event that will bolster bilateral political trust and strategic partnership in the light of regional and global rapid changes.

The four-day visit is to start from March 16, said Charge d’Affaires ad Interim at the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi Suzuki Hideo at a press conference in Hanoi on March 13.

President Sang will deliver a speech at the Japanese Lower House, which is deemed a highlight of the forthcoming visit as only a few of foreign heads of state have a chance to speak before Japan’s Parliament.

During the press conference, the Japanese official also hailed Vietnam for sparing no effort to search for the Malaysian Airliner plane that went missing on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Vietnam and Japan established their diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973. The bilateral relationship has been growing unceasingly from a reliable partnership in 2002 to a strategic partnership in 2009.

Two-way trade was estimated at 25.6 billion USD in 2013. The two sides set a target of at least doubling their trade turnover by 2020.

Japan was Vietnam’s leading investor with its capital totalling 5.7 billion USD in 2013, making up 26.6 percent of foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into Vietnam.

It remains the leading ODA donor to Vietnam, providing a total amount of 21 billion USD in ODA to the Southeast Asian country from 1992 to 2013.

Both countries are working together in negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Source: Vietnam Plus