Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a press conference in Hanoi on January 16 (Photo: VNA) Tokyo (VNA) – The official visit toVietnam by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made headlines in Japan on January 17.
Many big newspapers such as Japan Times,Yomiuri, Nihon Keizai and Sankei covered the trip, which is the third toVietnam by Abe as PM of Japan.
They highlight the cooperation between the twocountries, as seen through agreement in various issues such as collaboration toensure maritime security and accelerate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)agreement, along with Japan’s commitment to support Vietnam.
In terms of marine security cooperation, thepress reported Abe’s pledge to provide six patrol ships for Vietnam to help itimprove patrol capacity in the East Sea.
They quoted the Japanese PM as saying that providingthe patrol ships will help the Southeast Asian nation protect navigationfreedom, legal regulations and peaceful means to resolve disputes.
Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed Abe’scommitments, stressing that both countries agreed on the importance of keepingsecurity in the East Sea and promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes inline with international law, according to the media.
They reported that the two leaders also voicedtheir hope for the TPP to take effect as soon as possible while vowing to keepthe deal alive. The Nikkei newspaper cited PM Phuc as saying to his Japanesecounterpart that TPP is an important agreement and Vietnam is stepping uppreparations to ratify it.
Another move that drew attention was the pledgeto give Vietnam a new loan package worth 120 billion JPY (about 1.05 billionUSD). The loan aims to support local infrastructure development, including awater drainage project, a project on developing the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in thesuburbs of Hanoi, and others on electricity and waste treatment systems.
As the biggest assistance provider, the secondbiggest foreign investor and one of the key trading partners of Vietnam, Japanis becoming an “important ally” of this country, Japanese media wrote.-VNA
VNA
