While meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Tokyo on May 24, PM Abe said Japan is considering three construction projects which he and his Vietnamese counterpart had agreed, namely an express railway line, a North-South highway and the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

Deputy PM Khiem briefed the Japanese PM on the results of the first session of the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Committee and said Japanese politicians and entrepreneurs in various meetings showed strong support for developing relations with Vietnam, particularly in the implementation of the above-mentioned three projects.

He conveyed President Nguyen Minh Triet’s invitation to visit Vietnam to the Japanese Emperor and Queen and members of the Royal family.

The same day, Mr Khiem met with Minister of Finance Koji Omi, Minister for Administrative Reform Sato Genichiro, and Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Katsuhito Asano. He also received Nikkei President Rykio Sugita and representatives from other big groups. 

Common goals

“Vietnam is aware of Asia’s common opportunity and the country is determined to use it to enforce its socio-economic development,” said Mr Khiem. 

He noted that over the past 10 years Southeast Asian countries have managed to overcome a financial crisis and advance to a new stage of potential growth. China and India have recorded high economic development in recent years, and Japan has recovered from a decade-long economic recession and achieved impressive growth.

Mr Khiem said regional and international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank praised Asia’s fast growth, noting that it accounts for 25 percent of the world’s GDP and trade, despite lingering poverty. 

Future efforts

The Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister said that efforts should be made to maintain peace, security and stability in the region to help create favourable conditions for multilateral cooperation between economies in the region. In addition, he said relations among nations should be further improved while conflicts and disputes should be solved through negotiations and peaceful means.

“We should continue to expand and strengthen different forms of bilateral and regional cooperation in all fields, including those in economy, trade, culture and technology,” said Mr Khiem.

“As Asia has a vast potential for skilled workers, it should enhance cooperation to establish centres for human resources development. Vietnam is ready to cooperate in the issue, including the building for such centres in Vietnam and supplying skilled workers to other countries,” he said. 

As young people are those who will decide the future of their countries and the region, Mr Khiem suggested that cultural exchanges should be promoted in an effort to deepen cross-cultural understanding.