Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on May 29, concluding the Japan visit at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.
During the three-day stay, PM Phuc attended the plenary session of the expanded Group of Seven (G7) Summit in the Japanese prefecture of Mie, held talks with PM Abe in Tokyo and met bilaterally with leaders of G7 and guest countries and international organisations.
It was the first time Vietnam had been invited to the Summit, marking its enhanced role in the region and the world.
In his speech, the Vietnamese PM hailed Japan’s decision to expand its Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure initiative. He also shared G7 and ASEAN member states’ concerns over threat to peace, stability and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.
He called on parties concerned to exercise restraint, settle disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and strengthen measures to build trust and preventive diplomacy, towards the early formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
The PM pressed for practical actions to enhance an environment of peace and stability as well as settle common issues in the region and the world, particularly sustainable development goals, infrastructure ramp-up, disaster prevention, climate change response, anti-terrorism, food and water resources security, among others.
He expressed his firm belief in the G7 member countries’ important role in shoring up global economic recovery, trade and investment connectivity as well as effectively dealing with global development challenges.
Leaders of G7 countries and others called for support to ASEAN member states in building high-quality infrastructure and boosting connectivity and trust building in order to deal with hot spots in the region and the world, including maritime and aviation safety and security in the East Sea and East China Sea.
On the sidelines of the summit, the leader met bilaterally with Sri Lankan President, Secretary General of the United Nations, General Director of the International Monetary Fund, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, French President, Canadian PM, President of the European Commission and President of the European Council, UK PM, German Chancellor, US President, Italian PM and President of the World Bank.
During the meetings, the PM wished that countries and partners would work closely with Vietnam at multilateral forums in the region and the world, including supporting Vietnam’s run for non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 and Director General of UNESCO for the 2017-2021 tenure.
Vietnam always strives to develop ties with countries globally in the spirit of being a friend, trustworthy partner and responsible member of the international community, he said.
Speaking to 1,500 Japanese firms at the Vietnam – Japan high-level economic policy dialogue in the tourist city of Nagoya, PM Phuc pledged to continue fine-tuning legal regulations to create a more stable and transparent business environment for investors, particularly Japanese ones.
During their talks in Tokyo on May 28, the Vietnamese and Japanese PMs reached consensus on specific measures to lift the bilateral extensive strategic partnership in the foreseeable future, including strengthening political trust via regular visits and exchanges on the fringes of international conferences, joint work in the UN peacekeeping mission and post-war recovery.
They stressed the importance of ensuring peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, sharing view that parties concerned should prevent actions that change the status quo, complicate and extend disputes and militarisation in the East Sea while seriously abiding by international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and the DOC towards reaching a COC.
Following the talks, host and guest witnessed the signing of five agreements, four of them relate to the provision of official development assistance worth 1.5 billion USD for Vietnam.-VNA
