Since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1973, they have passed many significant milestones in bilateral ties, building a long-term, reliable and sustainable partnership. During their reciprocal visits in 2006, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his former Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe affirmed their determination to establish the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership.

Mr Triet’s visit to Japan aims to build up the trust between the two countries to fulfil the goal of developing bilateral ties towards strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.

Vietnam and Japan have many things in common and a long history of relationship. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, many Japanese merchants arrived in Vietnam to establish business links. In turn, many Vietnamese travelled to Japan in the early 20^th century to explore the policies in the country of the Rising Sun. 

The past five years have been a difficult time for the Japanese economy. The country decided to cut the official development assistance (ODA) to developing countries, but maintained a large amount of aid to Vietnam, reaching approximately US$11 billion, making up one third of the total ODA capital committed to the country by international donors.

Japan is one of the countries that have strongly supported Vietnam in its bid to join the World Trade Organisation and other regional and international organisations. Besides 855 investment projects operating in Vietnam, Japan has emerged as a leading economic and trade partner for the Southeast Asian country, with two-way trade last year reaching US$10 billion.

Despite changes in the political sphere, the Japanese Government has attached a lot of importance to developing ties with Vietnam and values the Southeast Asian country’s role in the region. It sees Vietnam as an attractive investment destination thanks to its political stability, high economic growth and abundant human resources.

As Vietnam has used Japanese ODA effectively, Japan has encouraged its financial organisations and businesses to invest in Vietnam, including three important projects to build (1) the North-South Highway, (2) the North-South railway line, and (3) the Hoa Lac Hi-tech park in Hanoi.

Currently, the two countries are speeding up negotiations to early sign the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the aim of raising bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2015. 

Vietnamese people admire the Japanese people’s will and creativity in national construction and development. From a poor war-torn country without abundant natural resources after World War II, Japan has focused on economic development and quickly became one of the world’s second largest economic powers (with a total GDP revenue of US$4.5 trillion) and a leading global sci-tech developer.