Japanese expert optimistic about prospects for Vietnam-Japan ties
VOV.VN - Dr Tomotaka Shoji, director of the Regional Research Division at the National Institute for Defence Studies under the Japanese Ministry of Defence, has laid stress on great potential for future development of Vietnam-Japan ties on the occasion of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong's Japan visit.
In a recent media interview, the Japanese scholar said that in the context that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Japan-Vietnam diplomatic relations and the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan cooperative friendship, the visit by President Vo Van Thuong is viewed as an opportunity for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Vietnamese State leader to reaffirm the strength of the bilateral relations and further development of bilateral/multilateral ties.
Japanese people regard Vietnam as an ideal tourist destination thanks to its close geographical location, attractive sites and cuisine, Dr. Shoji said, adding that Vietnam is a very fast-growing economy and its people are full of energy.
He also showed his elation that Vietnamese people feel familiar with Japan and Japanese people find that Vietnamese people are very friendly, especially when there are many Vietnamese people living in the East Asian nation. The feeling of familiarity plays an important role in stepping up Japan's cooperation with Vietnam, he went on to say.
With regard to the strengths of the Vietnam-Japan relations, Shoji affirmed that both nations can establish and maintain strong bilateral relations due to geographical proximity, ethnic sympathy, and economic complementarity and converging strategic interests.
He said that the first strength is economic collaboration, stressing that bilateral cooperation in this field has obtained strong progress. Japan has long valued economic cooperation in its foreign policy. With strong economic potential, Japan desires to capitalize on its advantages to push up ties with Vietnam. Security is also a very important area of cooperation, Shoji said, elaborating that the two sides have many prospects for broader cooperation in this regard.
Talking about challenges in the bilateral relations, he said that despite sound relations between the two countries, Vietnam and Japan still need to deal with a number of issues, including policies relating to technical apprentices. It is essential for the two countries to maintain and deepen their relationship by collaborating more in areas such as sustainable economy, environmental protection and regional security, Shoji said. He expressed his belief that bilateral economic and security cooperation will continue to develop in the near future
There are many issues that affect not only Vietnam and Japan, but also other countries in the world, such as climate change. Each country is facing different problems, such as the environment. Therefore, he suggested the two countries work hand in hand to resolve these problems toward fruitful cooperation in the time to come.
