President Triet made the affirmation at a reception for former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on December 15 during his visit to Vietnam to attend the 9^th General Assembly of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) held in Hanoi.

Mr Triet added that Vietnam wants to continue to strengthen friendship and cooperation with Japan, toward a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.

State President also spoke highly of Mr Fukuda’s active contribution in promoting Vietnam-Japan relations over the past years. He expressed delight at the fine development of strong relations and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries. This year, both countries have celebrated the 35^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with many exchange activities, especially the Vietnam-Japan Music Festival in Vietnam and Vietnam Week 2008 to be held in Japan. In future, the two nations will sign the Economic Partnership Agreement which will help improve the competitiveness of the two economies in the region and the world. Japan is now Vietnam’s leading investor and trading partner with two-way turnover increasing by 23 percent last year and expected to rise to 40 percent (US$17 billion) this year.

The former Japanese PM was also delighted at the deployment of three major infrastructure projects in Vietnam including the North-South expressway, a high-speed rail route and Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

Regarding the collapse of Can Tho bridge and the PCI corruption cases, President Triet emphasized that relevant agencies from both sides will cooperate to solve these cases soon in accordance with the laws in order to consolidate the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Mr Fukuda added that mutual trust will lay a foundation for the development of Vietnam-Japan relations. He expressed hope that the Joint Committee for Corruption Prevention in ODA-funded Projects will devise effective measures to prevent similar cases like PCI and that the Japanese government will resume Japanese ODA for Vietnam soon.