Deputy Prime Minister Lê Tiến Châu (right) receives Special Advisor to the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Takebe Tsutomu. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Lê Tiến Châu received Special Advisor to the Japan-Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance Takebe Tsutomu in Hà Nội on Friday.

The Deputy PM expressed his pleasure at meeting Takebe again and thanked the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance and its leaders for their warm hospitality during his visit to Japan to attend the 31st Future of Asia conference earlier this month.

He highly valued Takebe's more than three decades of contributions to promoting Việt Nam-Japan friendship and cooperation, particularly in people-to-people exchanges, local-level cooperation, education and human resource development, with the Vietnam-Japan University (VJU) project standing out as a flagship initiative.

The Deputy PM called on Takebe to continue encouraging relevant agencies of both countries to strengthen cooperation in education and training. He requested support in developing high-quality human resources in areas where Japan has strengths and Việt Nam has strong potential, including science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

Describing VJU as a symbolic project for bilateral cooperation in human resource development, he urged Takebe to support efforts to accelerate negotiations on an intergovernmental agreement for the university's development, with the aim of signing it this year.

He also called for the timely approval of the related loan and procedures to allow construction to begin in the first quarter of next year, stronger links between Japanese businesses and the university to improve graduate employment prospects, and an expansion of high-quality training programmes.

The Deputy PM also proposed promoting cooperation between localities, expanding economic, cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, and encouraging Japanese ministries, agencies and local authorities to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers, students and citizens living, studying and working in Japan.

For his part, Takebe said that during his latest visit to Việt Nam, he clearly sensed the dynamism and determination of the country's new leadership. In particular, under the leadership of Party General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, the entire political system has demonstrated strong momentum for reform.

He reaffirmed his commitment to contributing his experience and expertise to bilateral cooperation in human resource development, semiconductor ecosystem development, legal education, and support for the integration of the Vietnamese community in Japan.

He also pledged to help resolve procedural issues related to the VJU project and prepare for major bilateral cooperation events in 2025–26. — VNA/VNS