President attends ceremony to celebrate 50 years of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations

On the evening of November 28, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife attended the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

Attending this solemn event were Japanese Crown Prince Akishino and Princess, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan Nukaga Fukushiro, representatives of leaders of ministries, branches, localities, friendship organizations and close Japanese friends of Vietnam.

President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, Crown Prince Akishino and Princess, and delegates from both countries perform the flag-raising ceremony.

VNA

Speaking at the ceremony, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son reviewed the history of the relationship between Vietnam and Japan that began very early. About 1,300 years ago, the great monk Phat Triet of Lam Ap region of Vietnam came to Nara to exchange Buddhism and music.

More than 500 years ago, Japanese "Indian" ships came to Vietnam for trade; at the same time, they left precious historical heritage in Hoi An such as the Japanese quarter and the beautiful fairy tale love story between merchant Araki Sotaro and Princess Ngoc Hoa.

The Minister said that through many ups and downs of history and after 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, with cultural similarities, the exchange of interests, political trust and especially with the tireless efforts of generations of leaders and people of the two countries, the Vietnam - Japan cooperation and friendship has developed strongly, substantially, extensively and achieved many important and great achievements in almost all fields.

Political relations have been strengthened through all channels of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly with high political trust. Exchanges of delegations and contacts at high and all levels have taken place regularly and vigorously in diverse and flexible forms. Defense and security cooperation has increasingly developed substantially. The two sides have closely and effectively coordinated and supported each other, promoting their roles and actively contributing to regional and international issues.

Minister Bui Thanh Son speaks at the ceremony

VNA

Economic cooperation has been growing strongly in both scale and quality, creating a solid foundation for the relationship between the two countries. Japan has become Vietnam's leading important partner, the largest partner in providing ODA, the second in terms of labor, the third in terms of investment and tourism, and the fourth in terms of trade. In the opposite direction, Vietnam is the number one partner in terms of labor, and the leading attractive investment and tourism destination for Japan.

Cultural, educational, local and people-to-people cooperation has become increasingly in-depth and substantive, becoming a bright spot and a solid bridge for the sustainable and long-term development of the relationship between the two countries. Localities of the two countries have also actively promoted exchanges and cooperation, and have established nearly 100 pairs of relationships and signed 110 cooperation documents.

"Images of cherry blossoms, kimonos... are becoming more and more familiar in Vietnam. Conversely, Vietnamese cultural features through the ao dai, lotus images, and favorite Vietnamese dishes such as pho and banh mi... are also gradually becoming familiar in Japan," said Minister Bui Thanh Son.

The Vietnamese community in Japan is growing stronger with more than half a million people, becoming the second largest foreign community, making practical contributions to Japan's socio-economic development.

For Vietnam, Japan is not only a leading and long-term comprehensive strategic partner, but also a sincere and trustworthy companion. The development of Vietnam - Japan relations not only brings benefits to the two peoples, but also contributes to promoting peace, stability and development in Asia and the world.

In his speech at the ceremony, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko said that through regular cooperation activities, the two countries have built and nurtured the foundation of friendship between the people of the two countries, supporting and helping each other, especially in urgent situations such as responding to the earthquake and tsunami disaster that occurred in Japan in 2011, storms and floods in Vietnam, dealing with the SARS pandemic, the Covid-19 epidemic, etc.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko speaks at the ceremony

VNA

Vietnam and Japan not only promote cooperation for peace and stability in the region and the world, but also aim to maintain and strengthen a free, open and rule-of-law international order.

Referring to the vision for the next 50 years in bilateral relations, the Japanese Foreign Minister said that promoting exchanges between young generations and strengthening cooperation in new areas is extremely important, especially in dealing with environmental issues, green transformation, digital transformation, etc.

President Vo Van Thuong and his wife with Crown Prince Akishino and Princess at the ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

VNA

At the ceremony, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, along with Japanese Crown Prince Akishino and Princess, Speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives Nukaga Fukushiro and guests enjoyed a Vietnam - Japan friendship concert.

According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at 4:40 p.m. on November 27, People's Artist Dang Thai Son took a flight from Montreal, Canada to Tokyo just to perform at this friendship concert. The artist will also take a night flight to Paris, France right after the performance, in time to be a judge at the Piano Competition on the afternoon of November 29 (Paris time).

After the ceremony, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, along with Japanese Crown Prince Akishino and Princess, met and thanked the artists participating in the Vietnam - Japan friendship concert. In particular, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife had a friendly conversation with People's Artist Dang Thai Son.

President Vo Van Thuong gave People's Artist Dang Thai Son a pen as a gift with a warm message: "This is a "hometown gift", this pen is made in Vietnam, a gift for the artist so that when he is a judge in competitions, the artist can use it".

Thanhnien.vn