Acting State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (right) had talks with outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio at the farewell reception in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Acting State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân on Wednesday hosted a reception for Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio who came to bid farewell to her.

Congratulating Yamada on his successful tenure, Xuân spoke highly of his efforts to bolster the Việt Nam-Japan relations in various domains.

She described the time-honoured ties as a foundation for the two Governments and peoples to overcome formidable challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thanked the Japanese diplomat for taking bold steps to get the Japanese Government to give COVID-19 vaccine and medical equipment support to Việt Nam.

Xuân went on to say that political trust between the two countries has been increasingly consolidated, with the highlight being the upgrade of the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Welcoming the ambassador’s coordination to organise and preside over many activities marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations, Xuân said that the opera Princess Anio staged by Yamada helped the two peoples get a deeper insight into the time-tested relations.

She expressed her delight at the deep and practical cooperation across economy and trade, adding Japan has maintained its position as a leading economic partner of Việt Nam for years and the two countries are expanding collaboration in such new areas as high technology, semiconductor, and IT.

Regarding people-to-people exchange, Xuân said the Vietnamese community in Japan has been growing and become the second largest foreign community there with more than 520,000 members, while there are around 23,000 Japanese nationals in Việt Nam.

According to Xuân, they have an important role to play in promoting and maintaining the strong bonds between the two nations.

She expressed her hope that with his experience, understanding of, and sentiment for Việt Nam, the ambassador will continue contributing to the bilateral relations, especially in the fields of economy, investment, human resources training, people-to-people exchange, and tourism development.

Yamada, for his part, laid a stress on the robust cooperative ties over the past years which he said have been developed on the basis of the two nations’ similarities in culture and history.

The Japanese Government is interested in innovation – the area that Việt Nam is pioritising, he said, suggesting the two countries work together in the field in the coming time.

He affirmed that he will make his utmost efforts to back the development of the Việt Nam-Japan friendship, helping deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership. — VNS