President Võ Văn Thưởng (right) and President of Kyushu-Việt Nam Friendship Association Hoshino Hiroshi had talks on Thursday in Fukuoka. — VNA/VNS Photo

FUKUOKA — The Kyushu-Việt Nam Friendship Association has made positive contributions to boosting the relations between Việt Nam and Japan as a whole, State President Võ Văn Thưởng said while hosting a reception for president of the association Hoshino Hiroshi on Thursday.

Thưởng, who is paying an official visit to the East Asian country, stressed that this is the right time to enhance the friendship cooperation across science-technology, investment, education, and exchange between young people under the freshly-established comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world.

Hailing the association’s contributions to boosting cooperation between Việt Nam and Kyushu region, particularly through the travel study programme, he asked the association to continue supporting Kyushu localities to enhance exchange and collaboration with Vietnamese sides, as well as assisting more than 50,000 Vietnamese people who are living, studying and working in the region.

Hoshino, for his part, said that since its establishment in 2008, the association has carried out an array of activities to bolster cooperation with Việt Nam.

He expressed his delight at the substantial progress in the bilateral relations since then, with the increase in the number of both Vietnamese people in Kyushu region and Japanese investors in Việt Nam.

Describing the relations between Vietnamese localities and Kyushu region as a typical example of cooperation at the local level, he said the association will make further efforts to strengthen collaboration between the two sides, support the Vietnamese community to better integrate into the host nation, and resume the travel study programme after a halt caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. — VNS