PM's Japan visit hoped to elevate bilateral relationship

This is Chinh's first official visit to Japan since he assumes the PM post and Japan has a new leader.

Vietnam and Japan set up their diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973, and their extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in March 2014 on the occasion of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's State visit to Japan.

The bilateral relations are currently at the best stage in history since the establishment of diplomatic relations. High-ranking leaders of the two countries have maintained regular visits and contacts at international and regional forums.

Vietnam remains a trustworthy destination of Japanese investors. Amid demand for a stable supply, hundreds of Japanese firms have decided to open or expand factories in the Southeast Asian nation.

Japanese investors channelled more than 3.4 billion USD in Vietnam in the first 10 months of this year.

Despite the negative impacts of the ongoing pandemic, trade between Vietnam and Japan hit 34.3 billion USD in the period, up 6.4 percent year on year.

Japan has so far been the largest ODA provider for Vietnam, focusing on such fields as infrastructure construction, transport, energy, health care, poverty reduction in mountainous areas.

The countries have stood side by side in the COVID-19 fight. In the peak times of the pandemic, Vietnam presented more than 2 million face masks and personal protective suits to Japan.

Japan offered nearly 4.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for Vietnam, together with over 4 billion JPY (35.09 million USD) to help the latter improve capacity of the medical system. 

(Source: VNA)