Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated this at a reception in Hanoi on November 2 for Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, Mitsuo Sakaba, who conveyed PM Yukio Hatoyama’s invitation to Mr Dung to attend the summit slated for Tokyo later this week.

He said that the initiative will help raise Japan’s role in cooperation with the Mekong River and ASEAN countries, bringing benefits to both sides and contributing to peace and development in ASEAN and Asia as a whole.

He proposed that the Japanese government support these countries in studying and developing projects to jointly exploit, use and protect the Mekong River water in an efficient and sustainable manner.

Mr Dung and Mr Sakaba compared notes on a number of big cooperation projects between Vietnam and Japan, including those to build the Terminal No2 of Noi Bai International Airport, a road to Nhat Tan bridge, and Lach Huyen port.

Ambassador Sakaba said the Japanese government hopes that both sides at the summit will release the Tokyo statement detailing specific cooperation areas, especially in environmental protection and infrastructure construction.

According to the ambassador, PM Hatoyama proposed that the summit be held annually, with the second to take place in Vietnam in 2010.