On the evening of September 21, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association in coordination with the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam held a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.
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| Crown Prince Akishino and Politburo member, Permanent member of the Secretariat, Head of the Central Organizing Committee, and Chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Truong Thi Mai attended the ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations. (Photo: Quang Phuc) |
Attending the ceremony, on the Vietnamese side were Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat, Head of the Central Organizing Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Truong Thi Mai; Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the Steering Committee for activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations Tran Luu Quang; Former Politburo member, former Secretary of the Party Central Committee, former Head of the Central Organizing Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association To Huy Rua; representatives of leaders of a number of ministries, branches, central agencies, leaders of a number of localities, units with cooperative relations with Japan, former Vietnamese students in Japan and members of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association.
On the Japanese side, the ceremony was attended by Crown Prince Akishino and the Princess; Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio; President of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association Furuta Motoo; Embassy staff and representatives of organizations, businesses and the Japanese community in Vietnam.
Speaking at the ceremony, Head of the Central Organizing Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Truong Thi Mai emphasized that with a history of people-to-people exchange spanning more than 13 centuries, half a century of cooperation and development since the official establishment of diplomatic relations (September 21, 1973 - September 21, 2023), Vietnam and Japan have joined hands to foster an increasingly substantive and effective friendship and cooperation based on cultural similarities, strong historical ties and high political trust.
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| Head of the Central Organizing Committee and Chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Truong Thi Mai spoke at the ceremony. (Photo: Quang Phuc) |
Japan is Vietnam’s leading economic, trade, investment, tourism and labor partner. The two countries are important partners in the region and the world. Cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education, culture, local exchanges, people-to-people exchanges, etc. has been strongly promoted and achieved many positive results.
According to Ms. Truong Thi Mai, the expansion in both scale and quantity of Vietnamese and Japanese festivals, as well as cultural exchange activities taking place regularly in localities of the two countries, have been bringing Vietnamese and Japanese people closer together.
The growth of the Vietnamese community in Japan and the Japanese community in Vietnam over the years has not only contributed positively to the socio-economic development of each country, but also served as a bridge to help enhance understanding and solidarity between the two peoples and is an important foundation to promote sustainable and long-term friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the future.
Ms. Truong Thi Mai believes that with the sincere connection from heart to heart between the people of the two countries, along with the support and consensus of the leaders of Vietnam and Japan, Vietnam and Japan will "hand in hand" continue on the path to the future, with closer, more connected and effective cooperation.
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| Crown Prince Akishino speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: Quang Phuc) |
At the ceremony, Crown Prince Akishino affirmed that the friendship between Vietnam and Japan has been nurtured over a long history, over the past 50 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations, exchange activities between the two countries have been extremely vibrant, especially exchanges between the young generations of the two countries, typically international students.
The Crown Prince emphasized: "Exchanges between localities of the two countries also took place very actively with events introducing Japanese-Vietnamese culture held in provinces and cities in both countries, helping many people have the opportunity to enjoy the unique features of each other's culinary culture.
It can be seen that the exchange between Japan and Vietnam has developed sustainably over the years, the cooperative relationship has become increasingly deep and extensive in many diverse fields such as economy, agriculture, environment...".
The Crown Prince of Japan expressed his hope that this visit will contribute to further strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between the people of Vietnam and Japan.
In particular, during his visit to Vietnam, the Crown Prince is looking forward to the opportunity to talk with former international students, former technical interns, young people who are actively contributing as a bridge between the two countries in the U40 Interview Project as well as students of the Vietnam-Japan University.
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| A Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk song performance was performed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations. (Photo: Quang Phuc) |
On behalf of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association, Chairman To Huy Rua said that the two countries have many similarities in culture and history, contributing to making the two peoples not only closer together, but also blending and complementing each other.
At the same time, the growth of the community of nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan and the community of nearly 30,000 Japanese people in Vietnam is a solid foundation for the development of the Vietnam-Japan relationship.
The Chairman of the Association reviewed the remarkable milestones in the relationship between the two countries over the past 50 years, such as building the Vietnam-Japan relationship under the motto "Reliable and stable long-term partnership" (2022), upgrading to "Extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia" (2014), and the Joint Statement on the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership (2009).
The President of the Association affirmed that the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association have been, are and will be organizing more people-to-people and cultural exchange activities to strengthen the friendship between organizations, localities and people of the two countries.
In particular, exchange programs between youth, students, and future owners of the two countries will be prioritized for promotion in the coming time.
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| Children perform a bilingual Vietnamese-Japanese song. (Photo: Le An) |
Mr. To Huy Rua believes that, on the solid foundation built over the past 50 years and the great achievements in all areas of cooperation, with the high determination of the leaders and the efforts of the people of the two countries, the Vietnam-Japan relationship will develop increasingly strongly, practically contributing to the development of each country, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Sharing at the ceremony, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio also affirmed that Japan-Vietnam relations in all fields including politics, economy, and culture are considered to be at their best stage ever.
Reviewing some impressive figures, the Ambassador said that Vietnam is the second most preferred destination in the world for Japanese businesses after the United States when considering countries and territories for future business expansion; the Vietnamese community is the second largest foreign community in Japan; Vietnam also ranks second in the world in the number of international students in Japan.
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| Crown Prince Akishino and Princess visit the photo exhibition on the sidelines of the Anniversary Ceremony. (Photo: Quang Phuc) |
The young generation of Japan and Vietnam is currently actively working as a link between the two countries in many different fields including information technology, high technology, business, and art.
Ambassador Yamada Takio emphasized: "The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is not just a mere number, but when the next generation looks back, this anniversary year will be considered a year that opened up opportunities for the relationship between the two countries to develop even more strongly."
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