Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to Japan by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam from November 8-11 achieved important results amid a new stage of development in bilateral relations and rapid, complex developments in the regional and international situation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung has said.
In an interview with the press on the visit's major outcomes, Trung said that the Japanese Imperial Family, Government and Diet had given General Secretary and President Lam, his spouse and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation a solemn and warm welcome, demonstrating sincere affection and special courtesies. This reflected Japan's high regard for Vietnam's position and role, as well as bilateral relations.
This was the Vietnamese leader's first visit to Japan in his capacity as both CPV General Secretary and President, as well as the first by a CPV General Secretary in 11 years, he noted.
During the visit, he held high-level meetings and exchanges with Japan's top leaders, leaders of political parties and prominent politicians, as well as working sessions with business executives, research institutes and universities. He also met representatives of Japanese friendship and people-to-people organisations. Through these engagements, the two sides reached a high degree of consensus on many important issues, which were clearly reflected in the Vietnam-Japan Joint Vision Statement on bilateral relations in the coming period.
A key highlight was the two countries' transition to a new phase of relations as partners advancing together and co-creating for mutual benefit, high-quality growth, strategic autonomy and resilience. This direction is in line with Vietnam's new stage of development and its new development requirements, the minister said.
The Joint Vision Statement underscored key cooperation frameworks focusing on interconnected priority areas, including science and technology, innovation, education and training, human resource development, production and supply chain linkages, finance, investment and development assistance.
Cooperation frameworks in finance, investment, energy, digital transformation, semiconductors and other fields were also further specified to meet the development requirements of both countries in the years ahead.
During the visit, the two sides signed 11 agreements between ministries, sectors and localities, alongside around 60 cooperation agreements between businesses. These provide important foundations for collaboration in areas where both countries have strengths and needs.
Trung stressed that the visit had made an important contribution to elevating bilateral relations, enhancing mutual understanding and strengthening cooperation across various fields, both bilaterally and multilaterally, aligning with the spirit of partnership and co-creation, consistent with the development strategies of both countries and served the interests of their people, while contributing positively to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
These significant outcomes also helped advance cooperation through Party, State, parliamentary and people-to-people channels in the new period. The visit represented a proactive, positive and effective step in implementing the foreign policy set out by the 14th National Party Congress. It also helped create a favourable external environment through overseas engagements by Vietnam's key leaders, visits to Vietnam by foreign leaders, and exchanges and contacts between Vietnamese agencies, ministries, sectors and localities and their partners.
The visit’s key achievement was setting a new course for Vietnam-Japan cooperation, opening up fresh opportunities in priority areas where both sides have strengths and needs, and generating momentum to translate commitments and agreements into deeper, more effective cooperation. These efforts will contribute to the two countries’ growth objectives and strategic autonomy, he noted.
Trung said the foremost priority is to fully grasp the orientations set out in the Joint Vision Statement, particularly the commitment to acting as partners advancing together and co-creating. He noted that the two countries could work together in research and development, production and sourcing, enabling them to participate more deeply in regional and global supply chains.
Both sides should make effective use of cooperation across all channels, including Party, State, parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges, to strengthen political trust and mutual understanding and make bilateral ties deeper, more substantive and effective.
Building on the Joint Vision Statement as well as commitments and agreements reached by the two countries' leaders during the visit, Vietnamese and Japanese ministries, sectors, localities, agencies and businesses should work closely together to translate its outcomes into specific programmes, plans and projects with clear objectives, roadmaps and responsibilities.
Relevant agencies from both countries should also strengthen periodic reviews, follow-up and monitoring of cooperation to accelerate implementation and address any difficulties that may arise, he said.
At the same time, the two countries should enhance coordination at regional and international forums, particularly the United Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Mekong subregion and other multilateral platforms in which both participate. Such efforts will help promote multilateralism, dialogue, confidence-building and respect for international law, while contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development, the minister said./.
