Ambassador Ito Naoki emphasized that Japan wishes to accompany and actively support Vietnam in entering a new era as well as wishes to further concretize the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
On November 27, Vietnam and Japan celebrated the first anniversary of upgrading their diplomatic relations to “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World.”
On this occasion, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki shared with the press about the outstanding achievements in the cooperation between the two countries over the past year and the development prospects in the coming time.
Deepening cooperation
Reviewing the highlights of the bilateral cooperation over the past year, Ambassador Ito Naoki said that although there were changes in leadership positions in both Japan and Vietnam politically last year, high-level dialogues and exchanges continued to concretize the partnership.
New Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the ASEAN Summit in October, held talks with President Luong Cuong on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, and held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the G20 Summit. Previously, in September, former Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and General Secretary To Lam had an online meeting. “From the end of this year to next year, I expect there will be more high-level bilateral exchanges,” the Ambassador shared.
Looking back over the past year, according to Ambassador Ito Naoki, the cooperative relationship between Japan and Vietnam is increasingly deepening in many areas, not only in economics, trade, investment but also in national security and defense and people-to-people exchange. In the economic and trade fields, in March 2024, Japan and Vietnam agreed to launch the “Japan-Vietnam Joint Initiative in the New Era.”
The two sides agreed to continue discussions and achieve concrete results in five areas of cooperation: energy, innovation, strengthening the supply chain including supporting industries, developing high-quality human resources and improving the investment environment. In the semiconductor sector, Japanese enterprises are increasingly interested in Vietnam.
In August 2024, Tokuyama established a subsidiary in Vietnam to produce and sell polycrystalline silicon for semiconductors. This project was selected by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as a Global South Co-Innovation Project and is receiving support from the Japanese Government. In addition, in October this year, Rorze Robotech decided to build a new factory in an industrial park in Hai Phong, expanding its factory manufacturing robots used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
In addition, Japan and Vietnam have cooperated to establish the Vietnam-Japan University in Hoa Lac. The Vietnam-Japan University just celebrated its 10th anniversary in October this year and the first batch of students graduated in July this year. The Vietnam-Japan University is currently preparing the curriculum to train on semiconductors so that Vietnamese students can study semiconductors at the university in the future.
As Vietnam's consumer market expands along with economic growth, Japan's interest in the retail sector is also increasing. The number of Aeon Mall shopping centers has increased this year; Uniqlo has also become a popular fashion brand...
In the transport sector, the first urban railway project in Ho Chi Minh City will begin operations this December. The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and with the participation of Japanese companies.
Regarding ODA, Ambassador Ito Naoki said that this November, a signing ceremony was held between the two governments on the provision of information technology (IT) equipment to upgrade the system for the National Population Data Center operated by the Ministry of Public Security. This project will contribute to strengthening the Vietnamese Government's system and is a very meaningful support in the field of digital transformation.
Ambassador Ito Naoki also said that cooperation in maritime security and safety between the two countries is increasingly expanding, notably the project to build 6 patrol boats for the Vietnam Coast Guard that is currently being implemented.
In the field of people-to-people exchange and tourism, according to Ambassador Ito Naoki, since the establishment of the new partnership, the number of Vietnamese people staying in Japan has increased steadily and exceeded 600,000 for the first time this year. Japan continues to hold the top position as a favorite destination for Vietnamese people working abroad.
“To maintain this position, Japan will strive to perfect the mechanism and improve the working environment so that young Vietnamese people choose Japan, so that Japan continues to be an attractive labor market for young Vietnamese people,” Ambassador Ito Naoki affirmed.
Last September, Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Vietnam, causing severe damage. To date, through JICA and international organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disasters, Japan has provided a total of approximately US$2.4 million in aid to Vietnam.
Opportunities for further development of bilateral relations
Referring to the development prospects of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the coming time, Ambassador Ito Naoki affirmed that this partnership will develop more and more deeply. In particular, “under the leadership of the new leadership headed by General Secretary To Lam, the new era - the era of rising up - of Vietnam will be a great opportunity to further develop the friendly and cooperative relationship between Japan and Vietnam,” the Ambassador emphasized.
The Ambassador believes that Vietnam's active diplomatic stance will further deepen cooperative relations with Japan in multilateral forums such as the United Nations and ASEAN.
With the three strategic infrastructures that the Vietnamese Government has outlined, including urban transport-railway, energy and digital, Ambassador Ito Naoki said that cooperation between Japan and Vietnam is making steady progress in each field. These are the fields in which Japan will continue to make further efforts in the coming time for the growth and development of Vietnam.
In the field of climate change, according to Ambassador Ito Naoki, Japan will use its technology and finance to support Vietnam in achieving the goal of "Net Zero Emissions" by 2050 by building a cooperation mechanism in many areas such as offshore wind power, solar energy, renewable energy or LNG to promote the energy transition.
The nuclear energy sector has recently begun to receive renewed attention from Vietnam. The Ambassador said that Japan is ready to cooperate in sharing experience, technology and training human resources for this sector.
Citing a survey by JETRO, it is shown that for 7 consecutive years, Vietnam has always been the second most promising investment destination for Japanese companies; the trade and investment sectors have been promoted, the trade turnover of the two countries has increased 1.8 times in the past 10 years, Ambassador Ito Naoki expects that Japan and Vietnam can increase the trade turnover from 90 billion USD to 100 billion USD.
“Vietnam is stepping into a new era, Japan wishes to accompany and actively support Vietnam in that process as well as wishes to further concretize the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Ambassador Ito Naoki emphasized./.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/dai-su-ito-naoki-nhat-ban-muon-dong-hanh-voi-viet-nam-buoc-vao-ky-nguyen-moi-5029910.html
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