President Tô Lâm (right) and Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Ito Naoki. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — President Tô Lâm hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Wednesday for the new Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam, Ito Naoki, who has just begun his tenure.

The President underscored the importance of the Việt Nam-Japan relationship, particularly in light of the recent upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the successful celebration of the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2023.

He expressed his satisfaction with the significant progress achieved in bilateral relations over recent years, with growing closeness marked by frequent exchanges of delegations at all levels. Economic ties remained a major pillar while workforce exchanges and connectivity were also noted to be strengthening.

Recognising the cultural similarities and economic complementarities between Việt Nam and Japan, he expressed Việt Nam's desire to collaborate effectively with Japan in implementing the newly-upgraded Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework, which he said would benefit the people of both nations and contribute positively to regional peace, stability and development.

The host encouraged the ambassador to play a key role as a policy advisor and bridge between the two countries. He specifically asked the diplomat to work to concretise the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework, focusing on enhancing political trust and strengthening substantive cooperation in economy, trade and investment, especially in infrastructure, labour, human resources training, cultural, locality-to-locality and people-to-people exchanges.

Ambassador Ito highlighted his commitment to deepening the Việt Nam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership toward the next five decades, with a focus on economic collaboration, workforce training, cultural and locality-to-locality cooperation, and tourism.

He pledged to work closely with Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities to realise agreements and shared visions established by leaders, aiming to foster a more robust and substantive partnership between Việt Nam and Japan. — VNS