Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà and Omura Hideaki, visiting Governor of Japan's Aichi prefecture. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà on Friday received Omura Hideaki, visiting Governor of Japan's Aichi prefecture, and his delegation during their working visit to Việt Nam.

At the meeting, Trà expressed her satisfaction with the strong development of the Việt Nam–Japan friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Recognising Aichi’s strengths and its existing cooperation with Vietnamese localities, she suggested that Omura continue promoting partnerships between Aichi and Vietnamese provinces and cities beyond HCM City, particularly Hà Nội and Phú Thọ, thereby contributing further to bilateral relations.

The Deputy PM encouraged the governor to continue calling on Aichi's businesses and corporations to explore investment opportunities in Việt Nam and participate in social initiatives supporting local socio-economic development. She also expressed her hope that both sides would strengthen cooperation in training high-quality human resources in science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation through partnerships between the prefecture, Việt Nam's Ministry of Education and Training, and Vietnamese universities and education institutions.

For his part, Omura voiced his confidence that cooperation between Aichi and Việt Nam would continue to flourish.

According to the Japanese governor, Aichi is Japan's leading manufacturing hub, home to Toyota and numerous automotive and machinery companies. More than 200 Aichi-based enterprises are currently investing in Việt Nam.

The locality is also home to Japan's largest Vietnamese community, about 71,000. Its Chubu International Airport operates direct flights to both Hà Nội and HCM City, helping promote people-to-people exchanges, as well as trade and investment ties. In addition, the Việt Nam Festival in Nagoya, held annually for many years, has attracted large crowds, contributing to strengthening cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries.

Omura noted that Aichi has maintained economic cooperation and exchanges with Việt Nam for more than a decade, including the establishment of the Aichi Desk under a memorandum of understanding signed with Việt Nam's former Ministry of Planning and Investment (now Ministry of Finance) to support businesses, as well as a 10-year friendship cooperation agreement with HCM City. Before arriving in Hà Nội, he said he had held productive meetings with the People's Committee and relevant agencies of the southern hub.

Agreeing with the Deputy PM on the importance of developing high-quality human resources, the governor affirmed that Aichi would continue promoting cooperation with Vietnamese universities and research institutes. He noted that manufacturers in Aichi and Japan as a whole are facing severe labour shortages, making cooperation in training and recruiting Vietnamese workers particularly valuable.

The Japanese official also introduced Station AI, Aichi's innovation and startup hub, and expressed his desire to deepen exchanges with Vietnamese ministries and agencies and foster partnerships with leading universities such as the Hanoi University of Science and Technology and the HCM City University of Technology in the fields of startups and innovation.

On the occasion, Omura announced that the prefecture will host the 20th Asian Games (ASIAD) and the 5th Asian Para Games in September and October this year. The events are expected to attract around 20,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries and territories, including Việt Nam.

Trà expressed her hope that the governor would continue accompanying, and contributing to the development of, Vietnamese localities and to the growing friendship and cooperation between Việt Nam and Japan. — VNA/VNS