State President Vo Van Thuong and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio agreed to elevate Vietnam-Japan relations to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World” during talks in Tokyo on November 27.

Based on the framework of the new partnership, they exchanged in-depth opinions on bilateral ties and agreed on major orientations and measures to intensify cooperation to open up a stage of stronger and more extensive development in relations, meet both countries’ demand and common interests, and contribute to regional and global peace and stability.

They agreed to continue to effectively implement existing bilateral dialogue mechanisms between the two countries’ ministries and sectors and to step up the establishment of new cooperative mechanisms.

They will also promote economic links and cooperation to ensure economic security, and expand cooperation to new fields such as innovation, technology transfer, digital transformation, and green transition.

Prime Minister Kishida affirmed Japan’s continued support for Vietnam’s industrialization, modernization, and development of an independent and self-reliant economy that deeply engages in international integration, with the goal of becoming a developed country by 2045.

Noting that Japanese enterprises view Vietnam as an important partner in cooperation in guaranteeing supply chains and the most promising investment destination among ASEAN members, he proposed that both sides coordinate to improve the effectiveness of and tackle obstacles to accelerate cooperative projects using official ODA and FDI from Japan in Vietnam.

President Thuong highly valued Japanese ODA’s contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development and suggested that Japan actively consider granting new-generation ODA loans to Vietnam with a focus on large-scale strategic infrastructure projects (road, railway, and energy infrastructure), digital transformation, climate change response, and healthcare.

He also proposed the Japanese leader encourage Japanese enterprises to pour large-scale investments into Vietnam, transfer technology, enhance cooperation in high-quality agriculture, and create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s aquatic products and fruit to enter Japan.

Following the talks, the two leaders adopted a joint statement on the elevation of Vietnam-Japan relations to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World”.