Japanese Ambassador: Vietnamese people are deeply proud of their national tradition

Ambassador Ito Naoki made the above statement during an interview with the VGP about his affections for the country and people of Viet Nam, their aspiration in the new era of nation rise in 2025.

Since your mission started in Viet Nam, how do you feel about the country, people, culture and economy of Viet Nam?

Ambassador Ito Naoki: Since my term started last May, I have had abundant opportunities to meet with many Vietnamese people from different aspects of live, from leaders of the Party, Government, National Assembly, to representatives of enterprises, education and cultural organizations. I have visited 20 cities and provinces across the country from Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces in the North and Ca Mau province in the South.

Via these contacts, I was impressed by the fact that Vietnamese people are extremely proud of their national traditions, always cherish and preserve as well as inherit the culture and customs imbued with national identity. A series of events related to pho and ao dai have proven this. Each region has its own rich nature and unique charm. Sometimes, I come across scenes that are very similar to Japan, such as the terraced fields in Sapa and Mu Cang Chai or the custom of pounding rice cakes made from green rice.

In terms of economics, Viet Nam has achieved one of the highest economic growth rates among ASEAN countries and I feel that the Vietnamese people are very confident about the future. Japanese companies are also particularly interested in investing in Viet Nam. I consider Vietnam as one of the ASEAN countries with the potential to soon achieve a GDP per capita exceeding US$10,000.

How do you evaluate Viet Nam's foreign diplomatic policy?

Ambassador Ito Naoki: Over the past few years, Japan and Viet Nam have continued to share our strategic interests while a series of major geopolitical changes have continuously taken place in the international community. For Japan, Viet Nam is an important partner in realizing the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

In November 2023, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Japan and Viet Nam agreed to promote cooperation on the basis of "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World". General Secretary To Lam affirmed that Viet Nam will play a more proactive, positive and responsible role to the international community.

In the future, I was strongly convinced that Japan and Viet Nam will play an even more important diplomatic role in ensuring peace and prosperity in Asia and the world.

What are your expectations for Viet Nam in 2025 and especially the Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world of Viet Nam and Japan?

Ambassador Ito Naoki: Within the framework of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World", the bilateral relations between Japan and Viet Nam have been progressing steadily in many fields and people-to-people exchange activities between the two countries have become more and more vibrant.

I strongly expect that the "new era" initiated by General Secretary To Lam will offer a good opportunity to further develop and expand the partnership between Japan and Viet Nam. Japan will continue to be a leading partner, accompanying Viet Nam to enter "the new era" - nation's rise.

In the context that Viet Nam is strengthening its presence in the international arena, Japan expects to work with Viet Nam to promote bilateral cooperation activities and coordinate more closely at multilateral forums such as ASEAN and the United Nations, thereby playing a more active role in realizing the goal of peace and prosperity in Asia and the world. This year, Japan and Viet Nam are co-chairing the Japan-Mekong cooperation framework. I hope that Viet Nam's active role will bring more and more great achievements to the Japan-Viet Nam cooperation relationship.

General Secretary To Lam always affirmed the importance of developing strategic infrastructure in the fields of transportation, digital and energy. Japan welcomes this approach and will work with Viet Nam to finalize strategic infrastructure development. In addition, through the "Japan-Viet Nam Joint Initiative in the New Era" with key topics such as green transformation, digital transformation, strengthening supply chains and training highly qualified human resources, the Japanese Government and businesses will join hands to provide Viet Nam with necessary support in the process of industrialization and modernization of Viet Nam. In addition, Japan wishes to continue supporting Viet Nam's efforts in measures to respond to climate change, health care, natural disaster prevention, etc. effectively in the medium and long term through Japan's ODA.

Japan also paid attention to General Secretary To Lam's message on combating waste, improving economic efficiency, streamlining the government apparatus, and expected that Viet Nam's investment environment, including laws and administrative procedures, would be further improved, creating favorable conditions for the implementation of ODA projects of other countries as well as promoting investment activities of foreign enterprises in Viet Nam, including Japanese enterprises. Certainly, simplifying and making transparent administrative procedures and speeding up the approval process will promote the business activities of existing companies, thereby attracting more new investment capital from Japanese companies.

Thank you so much!