Party leader Nong Duc Manh has now concluded his four-day visit to Japan at the invitation of Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Japanese leaders were pleased with his visit made at a time when bilateral relations are growing and flourishing.

The Speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, Yohei Kono, said that Vietnam is one of Japan’s most important and reliable partners in Asia.

Both countries’ determination to develop their strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia is a step forward underlining the importance that both countries attach to promoting bilateral relations.

Party leader Manh stated that Vietnam and Japan have a lot of potential and are determined to continue developing their friendship and cooperation.

Building a strategic partnership is in the interests of both countries. However, according to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan, Nguyen Phu Binh, this strategic partnership is also in the interests of the whole region.

In the face of the world financial meltdown, Japan is more fully aware of the need to strengthen relations with other Asian countries and by helping to speed up development in Asia, the country will be able to fix the current crisis. Therefore, Japan wants to strengthen its relations with the Greater Sub-Mekong Region in which Vietnam is the most important nation.

For example, investing in and developing the transport network in the region’s East-West Economic Corridor will help to shorten the time it takes to transport Japanese goods to the Indian Ocean from 14 to 8 eight days.

PM Aso said that Japan is devising a US$20 billion plan to help Asia weather the economic crisis and will provide an additional US$2 billion in ODA for the region.

Thanks to their strength in terms of capital and management capacity, Japan’s Government and major economic groups said during their meetings with Mr Manh that they will continue to invest in large projects in Vietnam, which is politically stable and has a significant economic growth, a young qualified workforce, and a large market of tens of millions of people with increasing incomes. This is considered an important factor in coping with the fallout from the current global economic crisis. Along with the development of the strategic partnership and Economic Partnership Agreement to be adopted by the Japanese Diet, Vietnamese-Japanese economic relations will still have a number of opportunities to develop further.

Vietnam is an attractive and stable investment market for Japanese businesses, said Teruyoshi Kubota, President of the Vietnamese Economic Research Institute in Japan.

Japan’s Government leader, MPs and leaders of the major political parties voiced their support for maintaining ODA at a high level for Vietnam which shows their confidence in Vietnam’s ability to implement this capital inflow for social and economic development. The use of ODA will be assessed by how effective, transparent and sustainable it is in the long run

Party leader Manh reiterated Vietnam’s determination to combat corruption and prevent waste.

During his visit, Mr Manh expressed Vietnam’s wish to consolidate its relationship with Japan in potential areas while continuing to foster mutual trust and understanding.

Party leader Nong Duc Manh’s visit has become a landmark in the development of bilateral relations and strategic partnership for peace and prosperity which will continue to grow and flourish, added PM Taro Aso.