Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng (right) greeted the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Suga in Hà Nội on Monday morning. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Japan have demonstrated they are two extensive strategic partners and good friends in these challenging times, Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng said as he met with the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Hà Nội on Monday.

Party chief Trọng said the fact that the Japanese PM selected Việt Nam as the destination for his first overseas trip after being elected the leader of Japan is testament to how much Japan values Việt Nam and the bilateral ties.

General Secretary and President Trọng expressed his delight that the two countries' ties in recent years have made robust, substantial and effective steps forward with high political confidence in all fields in line with the spirit of the joint vision statement on Việt Nam-Japan relations.

“The two countries have clearly shown the spirit of an extensive strategic partnership, good friends in difficult times, and actively shared, cooperated and supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Trọng continued.

For his part, Yoshihide Suga expressed his pleasure to return to visit Việt Nam in his new position, and conveyed gratitude towards General Secretary and President Trọng, Government leaders and people of Việt Nam for giving the Japanese high-level delegation a warm and sincere welcome.

Japanese Government leader Yoshihide Suga said he was impressed by the achievements Việt Nam has attained in its đổi mới (Reform) efforts along with Việt Nam’s competent handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He reaffirmed that Japan attaches great importance to Việt Nam’s position in the region, always supports the development of Việt Nam, and stressed that the new Japanese government is committed to inherit and comprehensively promote the strategic partnership between Việt Nam and Japan, which has been built and strengthened by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

PM Suga informed Trọng of the results of talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyễn Xuân Phúc earlier in the morning, underlined the desire to maintain high-level exchanges and at all levels in various practical and effective forms, and to work towards gradually restoring travel and cooperation activities in all fields between the two countries since travel restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Vietnamese and Japanese leaders had talks at the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

Vietnamese Party chief Trọng said Việt Nam is preparing for the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Việt Nam slated for next year.

Việt Nam is committed to consistently upholding its foreign affairs policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, diversification of relations and multilateralism, and deepening the ties with its partners, Trọng said.

Japan is always regarded as one of Việt Nam’s most important long-term strategic partners with a high level of confidence, he continued.

The Vietnamese Party leader said Việt Nam highly appreciated Japan’s stance on the South China Sea issues, including the settlement of disputes and conflicts in the sea via peaceful measures on the basis of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

Japanese PM Suga said he holds in high esteem Việt Nam’s active, effective and responsible activities as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-21 term and as ASEAN Chair in 2020; affirmed that Japan will continue to work closely with Việt Nam at regional and international forums; expressed support for positions of Việt Nam and the Southeast Asian Nations bloc (ASEAN) on the issue of the South China Sea.

The two leaders expressed their belief that the relationship between the two ruling parties of the two countries will continue to grow in the new period on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, creating a substantial political foundation for development of bilateral relations in other fields.

Japanese PM Suga sent his best wishes for the success of Việt Nam's 13th National Party Congress. — VNS