Vietnamese, Japanese PMs agree on orientations for future ties

Tokyo, June 7 (VNA) – Prime Ministers Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Shinzo Abe reached high consensus on major orientations and specific measures to push forward the extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan in a more comprehensive, practical and effective manner during their talks in Tokyo on June 6. PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam consistently considers Japan a top and long-term economic partner and attaches extreme importance to the strategic cooperation in economy with Japan. PM Abe highly valued Vietnam’s increasingly important role in the region and the world and vowed to provide strong support for Vietnam’s development with the involvement of Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises, corporations and research institutes. The two PMs gave high estimations to the first State visit to Vietnam by the Emperor and Empress, and agreed to strengthen political trust, regularly maintain high-level visits and meetings, and improve the efficiency of the existing dialogue mechanisms. Abe promised full support for Vietnam to successfully hold the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the central city of Da Nang in November 2017. Both sides were committed to collaboration in national defence-security, the United Nations peacekeeping mission as well as post-war recovery. They vowed to promote economic connectivity via extending links across investment, trade, official development assistance (ODA), high-tech agriculture and labour. Host and guest were unanimous in promoting Japanese investments in Vietnam via effectively launching the sixth stage of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative and strengthening public-private partnership. They asserted close cooperation to launch action plans of six sectors named in Vietnam’s industrialisation strategy within the Vietnam-Japan cooperation framework until 2020 with a vision to 2030 and speed up the progress of major infrastructure projects such as the North-South Highway, Hoa Lac High-tech Park and urban railway. The fourth high-level dialogue on agriculture will be held soon this year while procedures to facilitate Vietnam-grown litchi and longan’s access to Japan and Japanese orange and tangerine’s entry into Vietnam will be accelerated. The leaders agreed to step up cooperation across education, human resources training and locality-to-locality affiliations. The host leader affirmed support for Vietnam to carry out a project on improving political system operation and training managerial officials at all levels, particularly those in strategic positions. Japan will initially train 800 Vietnamese master and doctorate degree holders in the next five years. The leaders agreed to promote cultural, sports and people-to-people exchanges while working closely together to celebrate the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2018. On regional and global issues of shared concern, they vowed close coordination at multilateral forums such as ASEAN, APEC, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the United Nations. Regarding the East Sea issue, they underscored the importance of ensuring peace, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom, and called on parties concerned to refrain from unilateral actions, including militarising, changing the status quo, complicating and extending the disputes in the East Sea; promote the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea; fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and promptly reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). After their talks, the two PMs witnessed the exchange of 14 signed documents between Vietnamese and Japanese ministries and agencies. The documents include the diplomatic notes for the exchange of four official development assistance (ODA) projects worth 100.3 billion JPY (roughly 912 million USD). Others are diplomatic notes for the exchange of three nonrefundable aid projects valued at 2.93 billion JPY (26.6 million USD), covering the operation of reservoirs in case of emergencies and effective flood management through the inclusive natural disaster management information system; and the Human Resources Development Scholarship Programme in 2017 and 2018. The two leaders then met with the press to inform major outcomes of their talks, during which they stressed that the two sides reached many important common perceptions in order to deepen the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership across fields in the time ahead, especially by enhancing mutual political trust, promoting economic ties and closely cooperating with each other in regional and international issues of shared concern. PM Shinzo Abe said Japan, with its outstanding technologies and experience, is resolved to contribute to building high-quality infrastructure, improving the investment environment and developing human resources in Vietnam, thus creating business opportunities that bring benefits to both sides. Regarding the wave of protectionism and anti-globalisation, the Japanese PM pledged that he will work together with his Vietnamese counterpart to push up free trade and investment. Japan will comprehensively support Vietnam’s hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting slated for November in the central city of Da Nang, he committed. The two countries will also join hands with each other to soon materialise the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed the Vietnamese Government’s resolve to effectively use Japan’s ODA, build a transparent investment environment, create optimal conditions for Japanese investors and seriously implement commitments made at the investment promotion conference on June 5. During the PM’s visit, the two countries’ ministries, agencies and localities signed 43 foreign direct investment (FDI) documents valued at over 22 billion USD, he said. Vietnam welcomes and backs Japan’s initiatives to ensure the economic prosperity, freedom of trade and maritime safety on the basis of respecting the UN Charter and international law, as well as independence and sovereignty of countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large, the PM said./.