Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính departed from Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội Friday morning for Japan to attend the G7 Summit. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính left Việt Nam on Friday morning for Japan to attend the expanded summit of the Group of Seven (G7) and pay a working visit to Japan from May 19 to 21 at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio.

The PM was accompanied by Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Trần Văn Sơn, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng, Minister of Finance Hồ Đức Phớc, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thắng, among others.

The invitation of Việt Nam to attend the expanded G7 Summit by Japan, which is holding the rotating presidency of the G7, demonstrates the importance that the G7 in general and Japan in particular attaches to the country’s increasing role in the region.

This is the third time Vietnamese leaders have attended the G7 Summit, following their attendance in 2016 in Japan and in 2018 in Canada, and the second time Việt Nam has been invited by the host country Japan, not in its capacity as a representative of an organisation or a group of countries in the region.

During the G7 Summit, PM Chính is expected to attend the official welcome ceremony for heads of delegations attending and deliver remarks at sessions with leaders of international organisations for food, health, climate change response, peace and development, which are the issues being discussed at the summit, according to the Vietnamese foreign ministry.

PM Chính will also have talks with the Japanese counterpart, as well as deliver remarks at the meetings with leaders of major Japanese enterprises.

PM Chính is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with leaders of countries and international organisations as part of the summit.

In the context of Việt Nam and Japan marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023, the trip of PM Chính to Japan is expected to further strengthen mutual trust and drive bilateral relations forward, particularly cooperation in focal areas such as economy, trade, new-generation ODA, high-quality infrastructure, green transformation and energy transition, as well as promote coordination in regional and international issues of shared concern. — VNS