50 years of Vietnam - Japan: Further fostering sustainable cooperative relationship between the two countries

On the afternoon of May 6, in Sam Son City, Thanh Hoa Province, the Thanh Hoa - Japan Connection Conference 2023 took place with the theme: "Thanh Hoa - Japan, promoting cooperation and sustainable development, towards green growth". This program is part of a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (September 21, 1973 - September 21, 2023) taking place in Thanh Hoa Province.

Delegates attending the Thanh Hoa - Japan connection conference in 2023 in a series of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Japan diplomatic relations (September 21, 1973 - September 21, 2023)

In his opening speech, Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung affirmed that this is a meaningful event to further foster the sustainable cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Japan, between Japanese investors and Vietnam in general and Thanh Hoa province in particular.

Mr. Do Trong Hung, Secretary of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, delivered the opening speech at the conference.

According to the Secretary of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, over the past 50 years, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been continuously strengthened and developed in many fields; political relations, diplomacy, and cooperation in the fields of security and defense have been increasingly strengthened, consolidated, and deepened, becoming more substantial and effective.

Cultural activities and people-to-people exchanges have become an important foundation for the increasingly close and trustworthy relationship between the two countries. In particular, economic - trade - investment cooperation has always been given special attention and comprehensively promoted. The two sides have built many important legal frameworks for bilateral relations.

"The conference on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan sets a new milestone for the further development of the long-term relationship between the two countries for the next period and is also an important event for Thanh Hoa province to promote, introduce and advertise the province's outstanding and attractive potentials and strengths; mechanisms and policies to attract investment; priority fields and projects to attract investment in the province; At the same time, this is also an opportunity for domestic and foreign organizations, enterprises and investors to come and explore investment opportunities, investment cooperation and business in Thanh Hoa province" - Mr. Hung shared.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Vu, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, speaking at the conference.

According to Mr. Hung, in diplomatic relations, Thanh Hoa province has welcomed and worked with many delegations and investment promotion organizations from Japan to survey cooperation opportunities. At the same time, the locality has also organized two high-level delegations to carry out foreign affairs activities, connecting investment, trade and tourism in Oyabe City (Toyama Province).

Regarding economic, trade and investment cooperation, currently, in Thanh Hoa province, there are 17 projects of Japanese investors, with a total registered investment capital of about 6.6 billion USD, accounting for 45.7% of total FDI investment capital and is the country with the highest investment capital in FDI investment capital in Thanh Hoa province.

Since 1997, Thanh Hoa province has received funding from the Japanese Government to implement 10 ODA programs and projects with a total capital of 45.5 million USD; in addition, from 1992 to 2022, the Embassy of Japan has implemented 24 aid projects in Thanh Hoa province in the fields of health, clean water, education, etc. Thanh Hoa province also has 13,346 trainees working in Japan.

Through this event, Mr. Hung said that in the coming time, Thanh Hoa province wishes to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with Japanese partners in building smart cities, e-government, education, healthcare, human resource development, labor market, and receiving more aid projects. At the same time, connecting and supporting Japanese investors, businesses and partners to survey and implement investment cooperation activities in Thanh Hoa province.

Mr. Hayashi Motoo, Secretary General of the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance, said that the Vietnam - Japan relationship is a deep strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Hayashi Motoo, Secretary General of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance, said that the Vietnam-Japan relationship is a deep strategic partnership for peace, prosperity in Asia and comprehensive development in all areas such as: Economy, politics, culture, national security and defense... In particular, cooperation in the economic field has achieved remarkable results. The number of enterprises participating in the Japan Business Association has reached 2,000, accounting for the highest rate in Asia and increasing 3 times compared to the past 15 years.

Mr. Do Trong Hung, Secretary of Thanh Hoa province (left photo), welcomed Mr. Nikai Toshihiro, Chairman of the Japan - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance

Mr. Hayashi Motoo also expressed his special impression of Thanh Hoa province, especially Nghi Son Economic Zone, which is equipped with a modern seaport system and convenient infrastructure connections, and has extremely rich tourism resources. Therefore, Thanh Hoa province has a lot of potential for economic and tourism cooperation with Japan.

Thanh Hoa province currently has more than 2,300 direct investment projects, with a total registered investment capital of about 650 trillion VND; of which, there are 145 FDI ​​direct investment projects, with a total registered investment capital of more than 14.6 billion USD, ranking 8th in the country in attracting FDI capital.

In 2022, Thanh Hoa province's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate will reach 12.51%, ranking 7th in the country; state budget revenue will be over VND 51,000 billion (highest ever); mobilized development investment capital of nearly VND 140,000 billion; import and export turnover of goods will increase sharply, with export value of over 5.5 billion USD; import value is estimated at 9.3 billion USD.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/50-nam-viet-nam-nhat-ban-boi-dap-hon-nua-moi-quan-he-hop-tac-ben-vung-giua-hai-quoc-gia-20230506160304689.htm