State President Nguyen Minh Triet made the remark when receiving the governor of Fukuoka prefecture, Japan, Aso Wataru, who was visiting Vietnam on the occasion of Hanoi’s 1,000^th anniversary.

During the October 11 meeting, President Triet applauded the contributions of Aso Wataru in bolstering relations between Fukuoka prefecture and Vietnamese localities.

He said relations between localities of Vietnam and Japan have strengthened and expanded in line with the fine development of the two countries’ strategic partnership.

President Triet expressed his wish that Japanese businesses would increase their investment in the country.

For his part, Aso Wataru extended his congratulations on the success of the grand celebration of Thang Long-Hanoi. He stressed that cooperative relations between Fukuoka and Hanoi would develop not only in economics and industry but also in other areas such as culture and environment.

He pointed to the environmental agreement signed between Hanoi and Fukuoka to demonstrate that the prefecture always wants to boost cooperation with the Vietnamese capital.

He also lauded the establishment of the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka in April last year, which, he said helps create favourable conditions for bilateral exchange, especially between businesses.

Japan wishes to receive more Vietnamese students, contributing to bolstering the two nations’ ties, he said.

On this occasion, the Japanese governor pledged to try his best to boost relations between the two countries’ localities as he said fine relations between localities would help the two nations’ relations develop more deeply and effectively.