Vietnam places importance on boosting cooperation with Japan

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the statement at a reception in Hanoi on October 27 for Governor of Japan’s Gunma prefecture Yamamoto Ichita on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties this year.

The two sides shared the view that the bilateral extensive strategic partnership is in a strong and comprehensive development phase with high political trust. Japan is now the top economic partner, the biggest supplier of official development assistance (ODA), the second largest partner in labour, the third biggest partner in investment and tourism, and the fourth biggest in trade of Vietnam.

Around 100 relationships between Vietnamese and Japanese localities have been established. At present, there are about 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan, making them the second largest foreign community in the country and making practical contributions to its socio-economic development.

Since early this year, both sides have arranged mutual visits and held celebration activities as a way of deepening the friendship and mutual understanding between their people.

The Vietnamese Government chief applauded the Governor’s determination, efforts and initiatives to boost ties with Vietnam, including holding traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebrations, the Vietnam festivals in Gunma, symphony orchestra exchanges, implementing memoranda of understanding on cooperation with Vietnamese agencies and various policies in support of around 12,000 Vietnamese living in the prefecture, and encouraging local enterprises to expand their operations in Vietnam.

Chinh suggested that in the coming time, the Gunma authorities and the Governor continue stepping up the exchange of delegations, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and tourism cooperation with Vietnam. This includes holding commemorative events and festivals both in the prefecture and in Vietnam, pushing forward local investments in Vietnam, especially in areas of their strength such as digital transformation, energy transition, high-tech agriculture, manufacturing and processing, and support industries.

The Vietnamese Government is ready to offer mutual conditions for cooperation between Gunma and Vietnamese localities, he said, adding that Vietnam will continue improving the business environment by making it more stable, transparent and healthy; reforming administrative procedures, fine-tuning mechanisms and policies, and improving strategic infrastructure.

Ichita, for his part, said via the visit, he desired to further enhance  economic ties and human resources training cooperation with Vietnam.

He added that he is accompanied by a delegation of 29 businesses which expressed their appreciation for Vietnam's business environment. They plan to invest a total of 7.7 billion JPY (US$51.3 million) in Vietnam in the near future.

In the years to come, there will be continued efforts to incentivize firms from Gunma to invest in Vietnam, as well as welcome Vietnamese enterprises to Gunma, particularly in  information technology and digital transformation.

Gunma is poised to receive more Vietnamese interns and workers, especially in the nursing field, he said, while affirming his commitment to contributing to joint work between Gunma and Vietnam, particularly in areas suggested by the PM.

Twelve businesses from the prefecture have already invested in Vietnam, primarily in industries such as plastics and transportation equipment. The Vietnamese community living there counts around 12,000 people, the largest foreign community in the prefecture.