Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and his Japanese counterpart Kamikawa Yoko. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on October 10 held talks with his Japanese counterpart Kamikawa Yoko during her visit to Vietnam from October 10 - 11.
At the talks, Son welcomed Kamikawa's visit which takes place in the year Vietnam and Japan celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
Emphasising the significance of choosing Vietnam as one of the first countries to visit after taking office as Japan’s Foreign Minister on September 13, 2023, Kamikawa affirmed that Japan values and wishes to promote bilateral relations strongly and substantially in all fields.
She suggested the two sides continue to deepen the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership.
The two FMs reviewed the outstanding achievements of Vietnam - Japan relations over the past 50 years and expressed their delight at remarkable progress in all fields. They discussed directions and measures to maintain the development momentum of the bilateral relationship and elevate it to a new height in the coming time.
The two sides agreed on continued coordination to promote high-level exchanges and contacts, including visits by senior leaders of the two countries.
They also agreed to continue to focus on promoting economic cooperation, local cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in new fields.
Minister Son proposed accelerating and effectively implementing new-generation official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam's large-scale strategic infrastructure development projects. He called on Japan to support Vietnamese businesses to join deeply in the global value chain with Japanese partners.
He suggested Japan take measures to create favourable conditions for and simplify procedures in granting visas to Vietnamese citizens, including considering adding Vietnam to the list of countries eligible for e-visa, granting long-term visas (5-10 years) for Vietnamese nationals who have visited Japan multiple times without violating the law, and step by step moving toward visa exemption for Vietnamese citizens.
The Japanese FM affirmed that Japan will increase its support for Vietnam in realising its long-term strategic goals and vision to 2030 - 2045, focusing on revitalising ODA cooperation, with a strategic emphasis on infrastructure development, and expanding investment and trade cooperation.
Japan considers Vietnam important market and partner with great potential, and hopes that Vietnam will continue to improve its investment environment to attract more Japanese investors, and cooperate in new areas such as digital transformation and green energy, as well as high-quality human resources training, she said.
Kamikawa highly appreciated the role and contributions of the Vietnamese community in Japan. She said Japan hopes to increase people-to-people exchanges and will consider facilitating Vietnamese citizens' entry into Japan.
The two sides also discussed recent notable regional and international developments, affirming close coordination to contribute to peace and stability in the region, and continued support for each other at multilateral forums and international organisations./.
