Japanese PM concludes Vietnam visit
(VOV) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Hanoi on January 17, concluding his two-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of PM Nguyen Tan Dung.
During his stay, Abe held talks with PM Dung and met with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Truong Tan Sang.
The talks took place in an atmosphere of friendship, trust and mutual understanding, and were described as very successful.
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| State President Truong Tan Sang (R) received PM Shinzo Abe on January 16 |
Both sides expressed pleasure at the rapid and comprehensive development of Vietnam-Japan cooperation relations, and agreed on specific measures to strengthen bilateral strategic partnership.
They agreed to increase delegation visits and dialogues at all levels, and effectively implement high-level agreements on economic cooperation and infrastructure construction.
Vietnam thanked Japan for providing official development assistance (ODA) to socio-economic development over the past 20 years, especially an additional US$500 million in ODA to three ongoing infrastructure construction projects.
Vietnam appreciated Japan’s assistance for formulating development strategies, notably the national industrialization strategy within the framework of Vietnam-Japan cooperation till 2020 and the vision for 2030.
The two countries will cooperate closely to settle regional and international issues of common concern and organize activities marking 40 years of Japan-ASEAN relations in 2013.
The leaders held that countries concerned need to work together to maintain peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region, and to settle any disputes through peaceful means and in line with international law.
On this occasion, the two PMs announced the start of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year 2013.