'Sincerity and trust' are the most important assets of the Vietnam-Japan relationship. That is what Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh mentioned throughout his four-day working visit to Japan.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President of the Japanese House of Councillors Otsuji Hidehisa hug each other when meeting - Photo: VNA
Perhaps that is why, in addition to activities at the Summit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN - Japan relations, talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, meetings with the king and politicians, he spent a lot of time meeting with organizations, individuals and old friends.
Meet many Japanese prime ministers
Before going to the airport to return to Hanoi on the afternoon of December 18, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the family of the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and met with Ms. Abe Akie. During his lifetime, Mr. Abe paid special attention to fostering the Vietnam-Japan friendship. In January 2017, Mr. Abe said in Hanoi: "The majestic Red River flows through Hanoi to the East Sea to the East China Sea and then connects to Tokyo Bay. Japan and Vietnam are two countries connected by the free sea." Before that, meeting with former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, the head of the Vietnamese Government recalled the help that Mr. Suga personally and the Japanese Government gave to Vietnam, helping Vietnamese people living and working in Japan during the time when the world was isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and providing non-refundable aid of 7.4 million doses of vaccines. When receiving former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his impression of the "heart-to-heart" doctrine proposed by Prime Minister Fukuda Takeo (father of former Prime Minister Fukuda) in 1977, which laid the foundation for the strong development of relations between Japan and ASEAN, including the Vietnam-Japan relationship. Vietnam's Japanese friends are all happy and expect great cooperation in the future, especially after the two countries announced the upgrading of their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership last November. Expressing gratitude for the precious feelings of good friends for Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh summarized the 50-year journey of Vietnam-Japan relations with the words "more": deeper feelings; more clearly felt sincerity; higher trust; more effective and substantial; increasingly expanded cooperation in scope and scale; increasingly understanding and loving each other.
When receiving Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance Nikai Toshihiro and key members of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance's leadership, the Prime Minister emphasized that sincerity, trust, and affection are the most important assets in the relationship between the two countries.
Proposing Japan to provide new generation ODA
Sincerity and trust to become closer together and the goal is to bring more material and spiritual benefits to the people of the two countries, so that the two nations can develop prosperously. With that meaning, at the working sessions with Japanese politicians, investors and sponsors, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh frankly asked Japan to provide ODA to Vietnam with "more preferential treatment, simpler procedures, and faster implementation".
Not avoiding mentioning some specific cooperation projects that still exist and are stuck between the two countries, the Prime Minister affirmed that he would direct the relevant agencies to actively coordinate with partners to resolve them, such as restructuring the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant project to reduce losses, and determination to implement the O Mon Lo B gas project... In response to the proposal of the President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tanaka Akihiko on the early implementation of procedures for disbursing the fourth loan for the Ho Chi Minh City urban railway project, Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien section (the Japanese Government provided the fourth loan of about 7,000 billion VND), the Prime Minister agreed and promised to immediately direct. "For old projects, I will ask leaders of ministries and branches to coordinate with JICA to resolve outstanding issues. We will learn from experience to implement new generation ODA projects more quickly and effectively," he emphasized. Regarding the prospects for economic cooperation, during meetings with leaders of Japanese corporations and partners, the Prime Minister called on Japanese investors to invest more strongly in Vietnam in new technology industries, semiconductor industry, chip manufacturing, digital transformation, green transformation, environmental technology, hydrogen..., especially technology transfer to Vietnam. "I look forward to your actions," he urged investors.
The pattern of flying geese gradually changes
Sharing with Tuoi Tre, two researchers Yessi Vadila and Lili Yan Ing (ASEAN and East Asia Economic Research Institute) commented that at the ASEAN - Japan Summit, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to a multilateral trading system, avoiding unilateral actions that cause division and strengthening regional trade and investment for common prosperity. "The relationship between ASEAN and Japan has gone beyond the flying geese model, highlighting the mutual impact and common development journey between the two sides, emphasizing the future of connection and progress between the two sides," the two researchers commented. The flying geese model was often used in the past to talk about Japan's leading role. But now it is gradually changing, as evidenced by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's emphasis on the phrase "co-creation" between Japan and ASEAN, highlighting equality in the relationship. On the sidelines of the first Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Summit, Japanese and ASEAN companies also agreed on a series of agreements focused on decarbonization, highlighting the need to mobilize private resources to achieve net zero emissions in Asia, a process that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said would require at least $28 trillion.
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