Trương Thị Mai, chairwoman of the Việt Nam – Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group delivers her speech at the ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Japan on Thursday evening. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI —Việt Nam and Japan will continue their future journey of cooperation, growing even more firmly, cohesively, and effectively, thanks to the sincere heart-to-heart connection between the people of both countries and the support and consensus of their respective leaders.

Trương Thị Mai, a Politburo member, standing member of the Secretariat, head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission, and chairwoman of the Việt Nam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, made this statement on Thursday evening during the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (September 21, 1973 – September 21, 2023).

The ceremony was co-organised by the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Việt Nam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group.

Mai also emphasised that with a history of people-to-people exchanges spanning more than 13 centuries, dating back to the 8th century, and half a century of cooperation and mutual development since the official establishment of diplomatic relations, Việt Nam and Japan have cultivated a practical and effective friendship and cooperation relationship based on cultural similarities, a strong historical connection, and a high level of political trust.

“Japan is Việt Nam’s leading economic, trade, investment, tourism and labour partner,” she said.

The two countries are important partners of each other in the region and the world, she added.

The cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education, culture, local exchanges, people-to-people exchanges has been strongly promoted and achieved many positive results, she said.

The expansion in both scale and quantity of Vietnamese Festivals and Japanese Festivals, as well as cultural exchange activities taking place regularly in localities of the two countries, have been bringing Vietnamese people and Japanese people to move closer together, she said.

The growth of the Vietnamese community in Japan and the Japanese community in Việt Nam over the past years has not only contributed positively to the socio-economic development of each country, but also served as a bridge to strengthen understanding and attachment between the two peoples as well as being an important foundation to promote the sustainable, long-term friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the future, she said.

Japanese Crown Prince Akishino (second, right) and Japanese Crown Princess Kiko (third, right) and Trương Thị Mai (fourth right), chairwoman of the Việt Nam – Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group visit a photo exhibition at the ceremony on Thursday evening. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

At the ceremony, Japanese Crown Prince Akishino said “The friendship between Japan and Việt Nam has been cultivated over a long history.”

Exchange activities between the two countries have taken place extremely vibrantly, especially exchanges between the young generations of the two countries, including international student exchanges over the past five decades since the two countries established diplomatic relations, he said.

In addition, exchanges between localities of the two countries also took place enthusiastically with events introducing Japanese - Vietnamese culture held in provinces and cities in both countries, giving a large number of people the opportunity to enjoy the unique features of each other's culinary culture, he said.

It can be seen that exchanges between Japan and Việt Nam have developed sustainably over the past years, and the cooperative relationship has become more and more extensive in many diverse fields such as economics, agriculture and environment, he said.

On this occasion, Japanese Crown Prince Akishino expressed that his visit would contribute to further tightening mutual understanding and friendship between the people of Japan and Việt Nam.

Also at the ceremony, Tô Huy Rứa, Chairman of the Việt Nam-Japan Friendship Association, said Việt Nam and Japan have many similarities in culture and history, making the two peoples not only come closer to each other, but also blend and complement each other.

At the same time, the growth of the community of nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan and the community of nearly 30,000 Japanese people in Việt Nam is believed to be a sustainable foundation for the development of relations between the two countries, he said.

He reviewed remarkable milestones in the relationship between the two countries over the past 50 years, such as building Việt Nam - Japan relations following the motto “reliable, stable and long-term partners” in 2002; signing a Joint Statement on "Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia" in 2009; and upgrading the relationship to a higher level “Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia” in 2014.

He added that the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Việt Nam - Japan Friendship Association will organise more people-to-people and cultural exchange activities to promote the friendship between organisations, localities and people of the two countries in the future.

Priority is given to creating conditions for exchange programmes for young people, students, and future owners of the two countries, he said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio said “Japan-Việt Nam relations in all fields including politics, economics, and culture are considered to be at the best stage ever.”

Reviewing some impressive numbers, he said Việt Nam is the second most popular destination for Japanese businesses in the world after the United States.

“The Vietnamese community is the second largest foreign community in Japan,” he said.

Việt Nam also ranks second in the world in the number of international students in Japan, he said.

He expressed his belief that the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is not just a mere number, but when the next generation looks back, this anniversary year will be evaluated as the year that opened new opportunities for relations between the two countries to develop even stronger. — VNS