TOKYO — Việt Nam knows that its relations with Japan are becoming increasingly important in the context of rapid global and regional changes, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng said.

Việt Nam is paying special attention to its strategic partnership with Japan and wants to raise it to a new height, Dũng said during his talks with Japan’s minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism Kenichi Ishii in Tokyo on Tuesday, a part of his visit to the country.

Ishii said his ministry is working closely with Việt Nam’s planning and investment ministry to start high-quality infrastructure projects and help boost Việt Nam’s economic growth.

At a session with Kitaoka Shinichi, president of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), Dũng thanked the agency for its assistance in developing Việt Nam’s socio-economic infrastructure, and affirmed that many of the big projects were contributing to the country’s development.

Earlier, at a meeting, Toshihiro Nikai, president of the Việt Nam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians Alliance and secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said he hoped the two countries would increase activities to improve their friendship.

Dũng responded saying that Việt Nam values the Japanese government’s assistance and the Japanese business community’s contributions to its socio-economic development and treasures its relations with Japan.

During his visit, Dũng said he aims to discuss and seek new visions and orientations for future co-operation and said he hopes the Japanese government will give Việt Nam more Official Development Assistance (ODA) with better clauses. It is the largest ODA provider for Việt Nam, accounting for 30 per cent of the total sum committed.

At the end of March, Japan was the second biggest investor in Việt Nam, with 3,355 projects worth US$42.49 billion. Its trade with Việt Nam crossed $29.71 billion in 2016, up 4.3 per cent from 2015. — VNS