Vietnam-Japan relations have entered a "golden" phase of substantive and effective development.

On the evening of December 10th, in Hanoi, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam held a ceremony to commemorate the second anniversary of the upgrading of Vietnam-Japan relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: Trung Hung)

The ceremony was attended by representatives from various ministries, departments, and localities of Vietnam, along with numerous guests, businesses, and organizations from Japan in Vietnam.

In a solemn and warm atmosphere of friendship, the delegates reminisced about important milestones, exchanged views on future cooperation directions, and raised their glasses to celebrate the two countries' relationship entering a new phase of development.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van highly appreciated the initiative of the Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam, Ito Naoki, in organizing this event, considering it an opportunity to review the progress in bilateral relations after two years of upgrading and to jointly identify key areas of cooperation in the future.

Expressing gratitude to Ambassador Ito Naoki for his positive and effective contributions to the development of bilateral relations over the past period, Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van emphasized that although two years is not a long time in the history of Vietnam-Japan relations, with determination and close cooperation from both sides, the relationship has developed steadily and achieved many new milestones.

Citing Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's speech at the recent Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum in Quang Ninh, Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van outlined five new points in the bilateral relationship, including: “many new mechanisms” such as the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum in Quang Ninh and the 2+2 Dialogue at the Deputy Foreign Minister-Defense Minister level in Tokyo; establishing “new pillars of cooperation” in science , technology and high-quality human resource training; promoting cooperation in “new areas of cooperation” such as digital transformation and green transformation; increasing “new investment flows from Vietnam to Japan,” especially in the IT and digital transformation sectors; and “expanding the scope of cooperation to global issues.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Ngo Le Van and other delegates raise a glass to celebrate new milestones in Vietnam-Japan relations. (Photo: Trung Hung)

Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van believes that the coming period will be a "golden" time for Vietnam-Japan relations to enter a more substantive and effective phase of development. He emphasized that both countries are at a pivotal moment with new aspirations for development.

In the context of complex international and regional developments, the Deputy Minister believes that political trust, complementary interests, and a shared strategic vision will be an important foundation for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the spirit of "sincerity, affection, trust, substance, effectiveness, and mutual benefit," contributing to peace , stability, and sustainable development.

Affirming that Vietnam has always considered Japan a top-priority and long-term strategic partner, the Deputy Minister stated that the Vietnamese Government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will make every effort in the spirit of "Work! Work!" as stated by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, to deepen cooperation in traditional areas and expand into new areas such as economic security, local cooperation, high-quality human resource training, digital transformation, green transformation, energy, semiconductors, etc., as well as closely coordinate on regional and international issues of common concern.

Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: Trung Hung)

For his part, Ambassador Ito Naoki reviewed the outstanding achievements of cooperation over the past year, including the official visit of Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru to Vietnam in April 2025. Immediately after taking office in October 2025, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Luong Cuong, in which both sides affirmed strengthening cooperation within the framework of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

One event that left a particularly strong impression on the Ambassador was Vietnam National Day at the 2025 EXPO Osaka-Kansai World Expo, where he and Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long attended and experienced the vibrant atmosphere of the event. The Ambassador expressed his gratitude to the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for its significant contribution to the overall success of the exhibition.

The Ambassador stated that recently, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and Deputy Minister of Defense, General Hoang Xuan Chien, visited Japan and co-chaired the first Deputy Ministerial-level 2+2 Diplomatic-Defense Dialogue between the two countries. He assessed this as a landmark event, demonstrating the development and maturity of bilateral relations.

Economically, the Ambassador emphasized that cooperation between the two countries is progressing strongly in areas identified by Vietnam as pillars of future growth, such as innovation, digital transformation - green transformation, and semiconductors, with the cooperation program for training human resources in the semiconductor industry being highly appreciated. In the infrastructure sector, many large projects have made concrete progress, such as the North Hanoi Smart City and the Yen Xa Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Local and business exchanges continue to be vibrant. The Ambassador mentioned the recent "Meet Japan" event in Can Tho, which was attended by approximately 300 Japanese businesses, and the Vietnam-Japan Local Cooperation Forum in Quang Ninh, which was attended by representatives from 31 Vietnamese provinces and cities and 16 Japanese localities. The Ambassador emphasized that Vietnam currently only implements a similar local cooperation mechanism with Japan.

Expressing delight at the strong development of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, Ambassador Ito Naoki affirmed that Vietnam-Japan relations have been and are developing strongly in all fields.

He expressed his hope that in 2026, the two countries would continue to achieve many more successes and looked forward to continuing to receive the support and cooperation of Vietnamese partners and friends.

TRUNG HUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/quan-he-viet-nam-nhat-ban-buoc-vao-giai-doan-vang-phat-trien-thuc-chat-va-hieu-qua-post929380.html