PM Phạm Minh Chính (R) and Special Advisor to the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Takebe Tsutomu. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính hosted a reception in Hà Nội on March 14 for Takebe Tsutomu, Special Advisor to the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, who is visiting Việt Nam in his capacity as Honorary Chairman of the organising board of the ninth Japan-Việt Nam Festival in Hồ Chí Minh City.

PM Chính hailed the festival as the first major event during the inaugural year of the Việt Nam-Japan comprehensive strategic partnership, which attracted nearly 400,000 visitors on March 9-10.

He thanked Takebe for his wholehearted, inspirational and constructive contributions to fostering the Vietnam-Japan friendly cooperation, especially regarding the construction of the Việt Nam-Japan University (VJU).

The PM wished that Takebe would continue to help with concretising the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership through specific projects and programmes across various sectors; stepping up educational cooperation, including upgrading the Japanese Culture and Language Centre at Hạ Long University into a centre for Japanese studies, improving the VJU's training quality and opening a semiconductor engineering faculty; and strengthening collaboration with the National Innovation Centre, potentially through the annual organisation of the Japan-Việt Nam education festival in October.

He suggested that the special advisor promote local cooperation in investment, trade and tourism alongside cultural and people-to-people exchanges, including the Việt Nam Festival in Hokkaido and the Hokkaido Festival in Hạ Long this year, which are important components of the new bilateral relationship framework. He also highlighted the importance of enhancing workforce training cooperation and improving working and living conditions for Vietnamese apprentices and workers in Japan.

PM Chính proposed that Japan consider allocating new-generation Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital to a project on building a rail route from downtown Hà Nội to the Hòa Lạc Hi-Tech Park as soon as possible. He explained that such a railway project holds significant importance, including facilitating the development of the VJU, advancing projects within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework and addressing issues related to the Nghi Sơn oil refinery project.

Takebe, for his part, agreed with the host’s proposals and pledged his continued support for cooperation with Việt Nam, especially in areas with promising opportunities as mentioned by the PM.

He also suggested specific measures to bolster bilateral ties, including building an "ecosystem" to support human resources training cooperation, and promoting educational tourism, internship training and labour cooperation.

At present, there are about 520,000 Vietnamese people living, working and studying in Japan, forming the second largest foreign community there and significantly contributing to socio-economic development of both countries. — VNS