Japan regards Vietnam as an important partner and will continue providing official development assistance (ODA) for the country’s sustainable development, infrastructure improvements and climate change adaptation.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Nakane Kazuyuki made the statement at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Cuong in Hanoi on May 14.

Cuong said Vietnam attaches substantial importance to the extensive strategic partnership with Japan and expressed his pleasure at the strong, comprehensive development in the two countries’ relations in recent years.

The two sides discussed measures to deepen bilateral relations across fields, especially agriculture.

They consented to maintain regular delegation exchanges at all levels and improve the efficiency of the current exchange and cooperation mechanism.

The host and guest also reviewed regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to increase cooperation at multilateral forums and negotiations to forge regional economic links, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.-VNA