Vietnamese PM says willing to strengthen ties with Japan

Hanoi – Vietnam attaches great importance to the relations with Japan and is willing to make the bilateral ties more intensive, practical and efficient, said Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Friday.

Dung made the remarks while receiving visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.

The Vietnamese leader proposed the two countries further boost cooperation in all areas including politics, trade, investment, culture, tourism, education, science, technology, national defense and security.

The prime minister expressed his hope that Japan would continue supporting Vietnam in development process, including providing official development assistance (ODA), while pledging to effectively use and manage the capital.

Dung asked Japan to continue to encourage Japanese enterprises to invest in Vietnam, promote bilateral trade, facilitate Vietnamese agricultural products entering the Japanese market, as well as create favorable conditions for Vietnamese students, workers and nurses to study and work in the country, according to Vietnam’s state-run news agency VNA.

Dung also thanked Japan for providing six used vessels for Vietnam to help increase the country’s law enforcement capacity at sea.

The Japanese foreign minister, for his part, affirmed that there is still great potential for the two countries to boost cooperation in economy, trade and investment.

Kishida said Japan is committed to supporting Vietnam to realize its industrialization strategy and would continue providing ODA to Vietnam.

Japan is considering Vietnam’s proposal on promoting bilateral trade, including facilitating Vietnam’s agricultural products to enter the Japanese market, exempting visa for Vietnamese citizens and increasing the number of Vietnamese apprentice nurses and orderlies to Japan, Kishida said. Source: Xinhua