Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at a press conference following their talks (Source: VNA) Inan interview granted to the press after the visit, the Deputy FM noted thatwhile in Japan, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks and meetings with the highestleaders of the Japanese political circle, including the Emperor and Empress,the Prime Minister, Presidents of the upper and lower houses of parliament. ThePM also met leaders of major political parties, several prefectures, andeconomic organisations.
Heunderlined that during the meetings, the two sides reached consensus on majororientations and specific measures to deepen the relations in all aspects, frompolitics to economy, official development assistance (ODA), trade, culture,education and cooperation between localities.
Theyre-affirmed that Vietnam and Japan are important strategic partners of eachother, and share many similarities in strategic interests.
Thetwo sides agreed to intensify political trust and maintain high-level visitsand meetings, Deputy Minister Trung said, adding that PM Shinzo Abe applaudedthe role and position played by Vietnam in Japan’s foreign policy and pledgedto attend and provide comprehensive support for Vietnam’s hosting of the APEC SummitMeeting slated for November in the central city of Da Nang.
Thetwo countries committed to closely coordinate with each other at multilateralforums like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the UN.
TheJapanese side said it stands ready to provide more patrol ships for Vietnam tohelp the country improve the capacity of local law enforcement forces.
Regarding theEast Sea issue, both sides were unanimous on the importance of ensuring peace, security,maritime and aviation safety and freedom. Concerned parties should not take anyunilateral actions, including militarization or changing the status quo andfurther complicating or expanding disputes in the sea.
Trung noted thatthe two countries also agreed that disputes should be settled through peacefulmeans with full respect for diplomatic and legal processes and internationallaw, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS), while fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and striving for the early conclusionof a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Inthe field of economic and investment ties, the Deputy Minister said Japanpledged to continue its ODA for Vietnam with priority given to reform,infrastructure construction, personnel training and climate change response.
Vietnameseand Japanese leaders were determined to double the bilateral trade in 2020 fromthe current 30 billion USD, first of all creating favourable conditions forVietnamese litchis and longans to enter the Japanese market and Japanese orangesand mandarins to enter Vietnam.
Accordingto the Deputy FM, a focus of the trip was investment promotion. The PM and hisJapanese counterpart Shinzo Abe attended an investment promotion conference,the largest event of its kind ever held in Japan, with the participation ofmore than 1,600 businesses of the two countries. PM Phuc also co-chaired fourseminars and dialogues with over 100 leading Japanese economic organisationsand firms in Tokyo and Kansai region.
TheDeputy Minister stressed that the trip has contributed to creating a new waveof Japanese investments in Vietnam.
Vietnameseand Japanese ministries, agencies and businesses signed a total of 43cooperation documents valued at over 22 billion USD.
Thetwo sides also inked diplomatic notes on more than 900 million USD in ODA forfour projects and about 26 million USD in grants for three others.
TheJapanese Government affirmed its support for Vietnam’s implementation of actionplans of six industries included in the the country’s IndustrialisationStrategy within the framework of the Vietnam-Japan cooperation, particularlythe auto and support industries.
Thetwo sides also attached importance to cooperation between localities,particularly linkages in agriculture, environmental protection and training ofVietnamese trainees in Japan.
DeputyFM Trung said the joint statement on deepening the extensive strategicrelationship issued at the end of the trip has defined the orientation forbilateral cooperation in the time ahead along with specific measures to boostties across the fields.
Regardingthe 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia, the DeputyMinister said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s attendance at the event hascontributed to raising Vietnam’s voice in regional and international issueslike globalisation, free trade facilitation, sustainable and inclusivedevelopment.-VNA
VNA
