(Dan Tri) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Japan to attend the ASEAN-Japan Summit and conduct bilateral activities there.
On the morning of December 15, the plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Noi Bai airport for Japan. The head of the Vietnamese government will attend the ASEAN-Japan Summit and conduct bilateral activities there, at the invitation of his counterpart Kishida Fumio. A particularly important milestone Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to Japan will take place from December 15 to 18. This is the second time this year that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has made a working trip to Japan. In May, he went to the land of the rising sun to attend the G7 Summit, at the invitation of Mr. Kishida Fumio. ASEAN and Japan established relations in 1973. Four years later, the ASEAN-Japan partnership was formalized through the ASEAN-Japan Forum (March 1977), expanding cooperation areas such as industrial development, trade, food and agriculture. Also in this year, for the first time, ASEAN leaders had a meeting with leaders of partners, including Japan (August 1977).
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh departs for Japan (Photo: Duong Giang).
In 2003, ASEAN and Japan upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership and officially established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit in Indonesia in September 2023. The ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit, taking place from December 16 to 18 in Tokyo, is a particularly important occasion, taking place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the friendship and cooperation between the two sides. It is expected that ASEAN and Japan leaders will review the past 50 years of cooperation, thereby setting out a vision and direction for the development of relations in the new period.
Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada sees off Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at Noi Bai airport (Photo: Doan Bac).
This conference is expected to adopt two documents: "Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Trusted Partners" and "Plan to implement the Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Trusted Partners". This is to concretize the results of the leaders' discussions at the conference. In the relationship with Vietnam, Japan is currently a leading important partner in all fields of politics, economics, defense - security, culture, education, labor, tourism, etc. Japan is the largest ODA donor, the second largest labor cooperation partner, the third largest investor, the third largest tourism partner, and the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam. In terms of trade, in the first 9 months of 2023, Vietnam's import-export turnover with Japan reached over 32.9 billion USD. In terms of investment, Japan's cumulative FDI in Vietnam as of September 2023 reached 71.3 billion USD with 5,198 valid projects, ranking 3rd out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In the first 9 months of the year alone, Japan's total FDI in Vietnam reached about 2.9 billion USD, up 50% over the same period in 2022. In addition, the two sides also cooperate in many other fields such as agriculture, climate change response, labor, education and cooperation in Covid-19 prevention. In particular, cooperation between localities of the two countries has been strongly promoted with the signing of more than 110 cooperation documents. Currently, the Vietnamese community in Japan has about 520,000 people. Creating momentum to strengthen Vietnam-Japan cooperation in various fields Sharing with the press, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's attendance at the ASEAN-Japan Summit is an opportunity for both sides to better understand the significance and importance of the relationship, thereby improving the quality and effectiveness of cooperation in the coming time. "In addition, the Prime Minister's attendance at this Summit also shows that Vietnam is an active and proactive member of ASEAN, always supporting the strong development and closer connection of ASEAN-Japan relations," according to Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu (Photo: VGP).
According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan, the Prime Minister's visit this time is expected to create a strong driving force for strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, investment, labor, etc. Sharing about Vietnam's role in promoting Japan-ASEAN relations, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu affirmed that Vietnam is an active and responsible member, making many important contributions to the growth of ASEAN. Vietnam has always been proactive and active in promoting the consolidation and enhancement of ASEAN-Japan relations, contributing to deepening the relationship and developing it in an effective, substantive and mutually beneficial direction, according to Mr. Hieu. He emphasized that one of Vietnam's most outstanding contributions in promoting ASEAN-Japan relations is that Vietnam successfully assumed the role of coordinator of ASEAN-Japan relations for the 2018-2021 period, with unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Vietnam has implemented coordination work creatively, in accordance with the context of the situation and cooperation needs, bringing real benefits to both sides, especially Japan's contribution of 50 million USD to establish the ASEAN Center for Responding to Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, announced in 2020.
Accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on his working trip to Japan were Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan; Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh; Deputy Minister of National Defense Pham Hoai Nam; Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quoc Hung; Deputy Chief of the Party Central Committee Office Le Khanh Toan; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet; Deputy Head of the Government Office Nguyen Xuan Thanh. In addition, participating in the working trip were leaders of many localities assigned by the Prime Minister, such as Secretary of Thai Binh Ngo Dong Hai; Secretary of Hai Duong Tran Duc Thang and Chairmen of the provinces and cities: Can Tho, Bac Giang, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, etc.
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