Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn (R) and Komura Masahiro, member of the House of Representatives and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the meting in Hanoi on March 12. — VNA/VNS

 HÀ NỘI — Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn received Komura Masahiro, member of the House of Representatives and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, in Hà Nội on March 12.

Lauding the great progress of the Vietnam - Japan friendship and cooperation in various fields, Minister Son noted that Japan remains a partner of leading importance of Việt Nam. It ranks first in terms of official development assistance (ODA) provision, second in labour cooperation, third in investment and tourism cooperation, and fourth among trading partners of Việt Nam.

He said 2023 was a particularly successful year of the Vietnam - Japan relations as it saw the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which created an important basis for bilateral relations in the next 50 years, along with mutual visits by nearly 200 delegations at all levels, and more than 500 activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

He asked Komura and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work closely with the Vietnamese side to promote the implementation of the newly established comprehensive strategic partnership and the agreements reached between the countries’ leaders; increase exchanges at all levels and between their Parties, States, and parliaments; and reactivate and step up cooperation mechanisms between ministries and sectors of the countries.

The host official called on Japan to continue assisting Việt Nam to build an independent and self-reliant economy, and provide new-generation ODA for large-scaled strategic infrastructure development, climate change response, digital transformation, and healthcare projects.

Việt Nam  is pushing ahead with the establishment of a Government working group to accelerate investment cooperation and ODA projects between the two countries, he announced.

The Foreign Minister also asked for boosting people-to-people exchanges, a foundation for sustainable relations, through strengthened cooperation in culture, tourism, labour, and human resources training.

For his part, Komura pledged close coordination with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to successfully organise high-level mutual visits in the coming time.

Japanese businesses are highly interested in expanding investment in Việt Nam , he said, proposing the Vietnamese Government continue to further improve the investment climate and roll out partnerships in new areas like digital transformation, green transition, and cooperation within the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) framework.

At the meeting, the two sides also touched upon some regional and international issues. They affirmed that Vietnam and Japan will continue supporting each other at multilateral forums and international organisations while enhancing coordination, stance sharing, and cooperation in issues of common concern. — VNS