Quang Nam (VNA) – Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, launched theVietnam-Japan cultural space in Hoi An ancient town, the central province ofQuang Nam, on November 11.

The Hoi An commercial port was established inthe early 16th century. From the 17th century, Japanese traders came to Hoi Anto settle down and set up a Japanese street in the World CulturalHeritage-recorgnised site.

During his visit to Japan in June 2017, PM Phucstated that Japanese people were the first international entrepreneurs who madesignificant contributions to bringing Ho An into the cross-border trade system. 

After launching the Vietnam-Japan cultural space, the two PMs witnessed “ChauAn thuyen” (Shuinsen), which were Japanese merchant ships bound for SoutheastAsian ports with red-sealed letters issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate inthe first half of the 17th century. 

The Shuinsen is a symbol of Vietnam-Japan culture. It is a gift from Japan’sNagasaki prefecture presented to Hoi An city to demonstrate the strongfriendship between the two localities and nations over the past 400years. 

The two PMs also witnessed the daily life and trading activities of localpeople, and had a dinner at a small restaurant in the town. 

They expressed their pleasure at the strong and comprehensive development ofVietnam-Japan relations with high political trust and increasing high-leveldelegation exchanges in 2017, including the official visit to Vietnam by PM Abein January and the official visit to Japan by PM Phuc in June. 

The two sides agreed on orientations and measures to further deepen thebilateral intensive strategic partnership. 

PM Phuc said Vietnam considers Japan a leading and long-term partner, while Abesaid he was glad to travel Vietnam for the second time this year and affirmedthe Japanese Government will continue supporting Vietnam’s socio-economicdevelopment via official development assistance (ODA) and human resourcestraining. 

The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields, includingenergy, agriculture, human resources training, cultural exchanges, tourism, andpeople-to-people exchanges on the occasion of the 45th anniversary ofdiplomatic ties. 

Phuc highlighted Vietnam’s strong determination to better investmentenvironment for foreign businesses, including those from Japan. He proposedJapan support Vietnam develop automobile industry and hi-tech agriculture. 

They also shared issues of regional and international concern, including theEast Sea matter, and affirmed to strengthen coordination at multilateral forumssuch as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and UnitedNations (UN).-VNA