Strengthening cooperation between localities of Vietnam and Japan

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed and highly appreciated the determination, efforts and initiatives of Governor Yamamoto Ichita and the Gunma provincial government in promoting relations with Vietnam.

Thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính tiếp ông Yamamoto Ichita, Thống đốc tỉnh Gunma. (Nguồn: TTXVN)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Yamamoto Ichita, Governor of Gunma Prefecture, Japan. (Source: VNA)

On the afternoon of October 27, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Yamamoto Ichita, Governor of Gunma Province (Japan), who is visiting and working in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister welcomed and highly appreciated the Governor's visit to Vietnam, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations, marking an important milestone in the bilateral relationship. The Governor's delegation is the 11th delegation of Japanese local leaders to visit Vietnam in 2023, demonstrating the strong and vibrant development of local cooperation between the two countries.

The Prime Minister and Governor shared their assessment of the Vietnam-Japan Extensive Strategic Partnership, which is in a period of strong, comprehensive, increasingly profound and substantial development with high political trust. Japan is Vietnam's leading economic partner, the number one partner in ODA, the number two partner in labor, the number three partner in investment and tourism, and the number four partner in trade.

Local exchange and cooperation activities are taking place actively and increasingly deeply. To date, about 100 pairs of local-level Vietnam-Japan relations have been established. The Vietnamese community living, studying and working in Japan currently has nearly 500,000 people, making it the second largest foreign community and making practical contributions to Japan's socio-economic development.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations, since the beginning of 2023, the two sides have had many delegations at all levels visit each other, organize many large-scale and meaningful commemorative activities, contributing to strengthening cooperative relations and deepening friendship and understanding between the people of the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government attaches great importance to enhancing cooperation between localities of the two countries, considering this a practical and effective cooperation channel to enhance investment, trade, labor, people-to-people exchange, etc., contributing to bringing the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership to a new height on the basis of sincerity, affection, trust and efficiency.

The Prime Minister welcomed and highly appreciated the determination, efforts and initiatives of the Governor and the Gunma provincial government in promoting relations with Vietnam, including the organization of the Vietnamese New Year, the Vietnamese festival in Gunma, symphony orchestra exchanges, the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with Vietnamese agencies, many policies to support the community of nearly 12,000 Vietnamese people living comfortably in the province, and actively promoting the province's enterprises to invest and expand business in Vietnam.

In the coming time, the Prime Minister suggested that the Gunma provincial government and the Governor continue to support and promote delegation exchanges, cultural exchanges, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism cooperation between Gunma province and Vietnam, organize commemorative activities and festivals in the province as well as in Vietnam; strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese localities; encourage provincial enterprises to invest more in Vietnam in areas where the province has strengths such as digital transformation, energy transformation, high-tech agriculture, processing and manufacturing industries, and supporting industries, etc.

Gunma Prefecture expands its market with Vietnam’s strong products, especially agricultural products and seasonal fruits; strengthens cooperation in human resource training, education, vocational skills improvement, and expands the reception of Vietnamese interns and workers. At the same time, the Governor pays attention to and creates favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study and work in the province.

The Vietnamese government is ready to create all favorable conditions for cooperation activities between Gunma province and Vietnamese localities, calling on enterprises of the province to invest and do business successfully in Vietnam in the spirit of harmonious benefits and shared risks. Vietnam will continue to improve the business environment towards increasing stability, openness, and health, reform administrative procedures, perfect institutions, policies, strategic infrastructure, etc. to reduce costs and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and investors.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated Governor Yamamoto Ichita's determination, efforts and initiatives in promoting relations with Vietnam. (Source: VNA)

Affirming his good feelings and impressions of the country and people of Vietnam, Governor Yamamoto Ichita said that every time he comes to Vietnam, he feels very warm.

Through this visit, the Governor hopes to further promote economic cooperation and human resource training with Vietnam. The delegation of 29 enterprises visiting Vietnam this time all highly appreciated the investment and business environment of Vietnam, a very potential market. These enterprises plan to invest 7.7 billion Yen in Vietnam in the near future.

Mr. Yamamoto Ichita said that in the coming years, he will continue to promote provincial enterprises to invest in Vietnam as well as welcome Vietnamese enterprises to cooperate in Gunma, especially in the fields of information technology and digital transformation. Gunma will accept more Vietnamese interns and workers in the nursing field; continue to promote cultural exchanges, organize Vietnamese festivals locally...

The Governor affirmed to continue contributing to cooperation activities between the province and Vietnam, especially in the areas that the Prime Minister has commented on.

Gunma Prefecture is located in the center of Japan, near the capital Tokyo, with a population of about 2 million people and a GDP of about 81 billion USD in 2021. 12 provincial enterprises have invested in Vietnam in fields such as plastics, transportation equipment, etc. The Vietnamese community living, studying and working in the province is about 12,000 people, the largest foreign community in the province.

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