Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm during phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm on Tuesday held phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Offering his condolences on the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the Japanese leader said that Việt Nam is an important partner of Japan in the region and the world, and is confident that the top Vietnamese leader will continue to promote and strengthen their bilateral relations.

Lâm expressed his gratitude for the Japanese delegation to the late Party leader’s funeral, and affirmed that Japan is one of Việt Nam’s key partners in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the strong, rapid and comprehensive development of relations between Việt Nam and Japan, especially the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World.

They also agreed to continue strengthening political trust and mutual understanding by maintaining high-level exchanges and effectively utilising bilateral cooperation mechanisms and dialogues.

Economic cooperation is expected to see further progress as a key pillar of Việt Nam-Japan relations, with Japan contributing to Việt Nam’s growth through official development assistance (ODA), helping with the digital and green transformations as well as high-quality human resource training.

The Vietnamese leader emphasised that Việt Nam will continue to improve the investment environment and enhance the quality of its infrastructure to welcome foreign companies, especially those from Japan, to invest and conduct business in Việt Nam.

Both countries will also promote practical defence and security cooperation and effectively implement their bilateral agreements, while strengthening connections in people-to-people exchanges and local collaboration.

During their phone talks, the two leaders also discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern, sharing the same perspective of strengthening cooperation for a peaceful, secure and stable environment in the region, including in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea). — VNS