Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang (right) had talks with former Prime Minister of Japan Suga Yoshihide in Tokyo. — VNA/VNS Photo Đức Thịnh

TOKYO — Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang met with former Prime Minister of Japan Suga Yoshihide, Chairman of the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Nikai Toshihiro, and President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tanaka Akihiko in Tokyo on May 24 as part of his working visit to Japan.

At their meeting, Quang wished former PM Suga Yoshihide, who is now an advisor to the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, to pay further attention to lifting the countries’ relations to a new height, increasing the exchange of delegations this year, and supporting the Vietnamese community in Japan, whose population nears 500,000.

Suga said Japan considers Việt Nam an important partner in implementing its foreign strategy in the region and pledged to back the promotion of the nations’ friendship and cooperation, especially in all-level delegation exchange, parliamentary exchange, economy-investment, and digital transformation; as well as of policies supporting Vietnamese living, working and studying in Japan.

He proposed that Việt Nam assist the Japanese community in Việt Nam.

Meeting with Nikai Toshihiro, the Deputy PM lauded the alliance’s meaningful and active contribution to the countries’ economic, cultural, tourism, and locality-to-locality exchanges.

He suggested Nikai continue to support the two countries’ high-level and all-level exchanges, tourism, locality-to-locality cooperation, culture, and people-to-people exchange, and promote the Japanese Government’s support for Việt Nam in early implementing the new generation Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme.

Nikai, for his part, expressed his wish to work with the Vietnamese side in promoting the bilateral parliamentary connection, especially between young and female parliamentarians; and in stepping up cooperation in many fields such as tourism, education, and sports.

He vowed to help speed up the procedure of opening the Japanese market for Việt Nam's green-skinned pomelo and suggested that Việt Nam consider the procedure to allow Japanese grapes to enter its market.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang (left) had a meeting with President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tanaka Akihiko in Tokyo on May 24. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Tuyến

Talking to the JICA leader, Quang highly appreciated the important contributions of Japanese ODA to Việt Nam's socio-economic development and poverty reduction over the past three decades and stated that the Vietnamese Government always respects and makes effective use of the capital.

The Deputy PM suggested that JICA continue to pay attention to the provision of new-generation ODA for Việt Nam in the matters mentioned at the recent high-level talks between Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio in Hiroshima. Such matters involve the North-South high-speed railway project, the urban railway in Hà Nội and HCM City, and other projects related to renewable energy, green transformation, and the enhancement of agricultural product value.

Tanaka underscored his willingness to closely coordinate with Việt Nam to further stimulate ODA cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

He said Japan is willing to participate in key projects of Việt Nam and suggested that the two sides set up an all-level periodical consultation framework in order to promptly provide information, solve arising problems, and ensure the effectiveness of these projects.

On the same day, Deputy PM Quang visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, meeting embassy staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Japan. — VNS