Hanoi (VNA) – A high-leveleconomic seminar between Vietnam and Japan was held in Hanoi on March 7 toexplore new possibilities for bilateral relations towards the future.

The event was held by the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, the Japan Business Federation,and the organising committee for celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relationship (September 21).

In his remarks, Prime Minister PhamMinh Chinh said 50 years after the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties,the Vietnam - Japan friendship and cooperation have been unceasingly reinforcedand developing in various fields

Particularly, economic, trade, andinvestment partnerships have continually received special attention and beenpromoted comprehensively. Both sides have built many important legal frameworksfor bilateral ties and are currently members of new-generation free tradeagreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP).

These are important corridors forfostering bilateral trade and investment links in the mutually beneficial andsupporting spirit, he noted.

Japan has become the biggest ODAprovider for Vietnam with more than 2.7 trillion JPY (19.8 billion USD) inloans, nearly 100 billion JPY in non-refundable aid, and 180 billion JPY fortechnical cooperation, substantially contributing to large-scale infrastructureprojects, creating momentum for sustainable socio-economic development, andhelping with the transfer of advanced technology and human resources trainingin Vietnam.

It currently has more than 5,000valid investment projects worth nearly 70 billion USD in total, ranking thirdamong the 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, theSoutheast Asian country is investing in 104 projects worth 19.2 million USD inJapan, which stands at the 36th position among the 79 destinationsof Vietnamese investment.

Bilateral trade approximated 50billion USD in 2022, turning Japan into the fourth largest trading partner ofVietnam, which exported nearly 25 billion USD worth of goods to the NortheastAsian nation.

Besides, the Vietnam - Japan JointInitiative, a special cooperation mechanism between the two Governments, hasbeen carried out in eight phases over 20 years, generating numerous encouragingresults in improving Vietnam’s investment climate and competitiveness.

Vietnam highly values thedetermination, seriousness, and effectiveness of Japanese investors and also understandstheir sincerity, trust, and commitment, PM Chinh said, appreciating theJapanese Government and enterprises’ contributions to Vietnam’s developmentachievements.

He held that the countries’cooperation potential remains diverse and huge, calling on FDI businesses,including Japanese ones, to increase training high-quality human resources,apply advanced management science, and step up research, development, andinnovation, thereby turning Vietnam into a centre in regional and global valuechains.

The Vietnamese Government will alwaysstand side by side with and create the best possible conditions for Japaneseinvestors to make successful, sustainable, and long-term investment in thecountry, he emphasised, considering their success as Vietnam’s.

The PM expressed his belief that as the traditional cooperation, comprehensive results,sincerity, and mutual trust, are brought into full play, bilateral relations will continue to beconsolidated in a more substantive manner, heralding a new era for the ties forthe sake of the two peoples and for peace, stability, cooperation, anddevelopment in the region and the world at large.

At the seminar, participants made term-end review of the 8th phase of the Vietnam - Japan JointInitiative, looked back on cooperation over the last 50 years, and discussedthe vision for the next five decades./.