At the invitation of the Japanese State, State President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse will pay an official visit to Japan from November 27-30, the Government News quoted spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang as saying.

The visit is expected to contribute to further deepening political, diplomatic, economic, trade, and investment relations between the two countries and promoting bilateral cooperation in new fields such as green transformation, innovation, and digital transformation, in the interests of the two peoples and for peace, cooperation, development, and prosperity in the region and the wider world, Ms. Hang said.

President Thuong will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, pay a courtesy call on the Japanese Emperor and Empress, and meet other senior Japanese leaders.

This is the first visit to Japan by President Thuong in his capacity as State President and the fourth by a Vietnamese President since the two countries established diplomatic relations in September 1973.

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and nine years of an extensive strategic partnership.

Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1973, and upgraded ties to a strategic partnership in 2009 and then to an extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2014.

Japan is the first G7 country to recognize Vietnam’s market economy status. It has twice invited Vietnamese leaders to attend the expanded G7 Summit when hosting.

The Vietnam - Japan relationship features high political trust, and the two countries share common views on many regional and international issues.

Japan is Vietnam’s leading economic partner and largest ODA provider, ranking second in labor cooperation, third in investment and tourism, and fourth in trade.

Two-way trade reached nearly $50 billion in 2022, including $24.2 billion from Vietnamese exports.