Japan PM’s Vietnam visit – A good start for bilateral relations

In an interview recently granted to Vietnam News Agency correspondents, Cuong said it will be the second visit by Abe following the first trip to Vietnam since he took office again in 2012. 

As scheduled, Abe will hold talks with Vietnam’s top leaders to discuss cooperation orientations between the two nations amid changes in the region and the world. 

According to the diplomat, the Japanese PM will be accompanied by businesses representatives who will attend a business forum and meet leaders of localities to enhance economic ties from the central to local levels. 

One week after the visit, Vietnam is due to welcome a delegation of 100 Japanese leading businesses – a programme organised by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Japanese enterprises have highly evaluated the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to build a clean-fingered, tectonic and action-oriented government, he stressed.

Reviewing Vietnam – Japan relations, Cuong said 2016 was a year of effective, comprehensive and strong development of bilateral ties, evidenced by increasingly strengthened political trust and high-level meetings and contact, as well as regular economic activities. 

Japan continued to pledge a large amount of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam and boosted cooperation in new spheres such as the supporting industry and high-quality agriculture, he said. 

Remarkable progresses were seen in joint projects in science-technology, human resource development and education-training. More than 20 delegations of Vietnamese local leaders visited Japan, while nearly 10 delegations of Japanese localities and enterprises visited Vietnam last year. 

He revealed that also this year, the Japanese Emperor and Empress will pay a first-ever state visit to Vietnam.