Viet Nam, Japan to lift up ties to new height

During the four-day visit, President Vo is expected to meet with the Japanese Emperor and Empress, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and deliver speech at the National Diet among other activities.

This is Vo's first official visit to Japan since he was elected President of Viet Nam last March and it takes place on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties.

With this visit, Vo will the the last of the top four Vietnamese leaders to have met in-person or in virtual format with Japanese leaders this year after Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's phone conversation with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in March, Prime Minister Pham Minh's meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in May, and Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue's meeting with President of the House of Councillors Otsuji Hidehisa in September.

The Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister said the Viet Nam-Japan relationship is now in the best stage of development with significant achievements gained across fields. The two countries have considered each other trusted and close partners in various areas from politics, security-defense, economy, culture, education and training, local-to-local cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, while expanding cooperation to new domains in the interest of the two sides.

Given the current regional and international landscape, the visit demonstrates the fact that Viet Nam always regards Japan a long-lasting partner of top importance, wishing to work with Japan to advance the bilateral ties for the benefits of each country and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, according to Nguyen.

So far, Japan has offered around US$30 billion in official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam, becoming the biggest ODA provider for the Southeast Asian country.

It is also the second labor importer, the third foreign investor, and the fourth trading partner of Viet Nam./.