Tokyo (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had meetings with Vice President of the House of Councillors of Japan Nagahama Hiroyuki, Executive Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Miyazaki Katsura, and Governor of Hokkaido prefecture Suzuki Naomichi on August 9 as part of his official visit to the Northeast Asian country.

At the meetings, Son expressed his delight that the Vietnam - Japan comprehensive strategic partnership has continued developing substantively and productively in all areas with high political trust.

Japan is one of the most important partners of Vietnam in the fields of official development assistance (ODA), investment, trade, and labour, he stated, noting that the two countries are also expanding ties to new spheres like energy transition, green transition, and digital transformation.

The minister appreciated Japan’s multi-faceted assistance for Vietnam’s socio-economic development, noting that its ODA has greatly helped with infrastructure development in Vietnam, including many projects symbolising the bilateral relations.

Talking to Vice President of the House of Councillors Nagahama Hiroyuki, he proposed his host support and promote all-level mutual visits, exchanges between the two parliaments as well as young and women parliamentarians, along with stronger economic connections through fostering ODA, investment, and trade links.

Son called on Japan to step up new-generation ODA projects; the collaboration in training high-quality human resources for the fields of semiconductor, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, green transition, and high-speed railway; locality-to-locality exchanges; as well as cultural and people-to-people cooperation. He suggested the Japanese Government keep simplifying visa granting procedures, work towards exempting visas, and consider granting long-term visas for Vietnamese citizens.

Offering condolences on the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and calling on both countries to carry on the late leader’s legacy, Nagahama conveyed President of the House of Councillors Otsuji Hidehisa’s invitation to Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to visit Japan.

He pledged support for enhancing the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership in all spheres, increasing exchanges and cooperation between the two legislative bodies, and creating conditions for Vietnamese labourers and apprentices to work in Japan.

At the meeting with JICA Executive Senior Vice President Miyazaki Katsura, Son suggested JICA boost the consideration of providing new-generation ODA loans with more preferential and simpler borrowing conditions and procedures for large-scale infrastructure development, health care, environmental protection, and climate change response in Vietnam.

He also asked JICA to help the country in human resources training; promote concrete assistance projects in news areas such as digital transformation, green transition, innovation, and administrative reform; and speed up some key ODA cooperation projects between the two countries.

The Vietnamese Government continues to view ODA as an important and priority source of funding for large and key infrastructure projects in the time ahead, he went on.

Miyazaki lauded the recent 12th meeting of the Vietnam - Japan Cooperation Committee, which discussed measures for strengthening economic partnerships, including ODA cooperation. He also thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for working with related ministries and sectors to promote the two countries’ ODA projects.

He agreed to consider the Vietnamese side’s proposals about some projects funded through ODA loans and the training of human resources in new areas.

Receiving Governor Suzuki Naomichi in Hokkaido, Son highly valued Suzuki and the local administration’s support for and determination in enhancing multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, especially in labour, cultural exchanges, people-to-people ties, and tourism. The minister called on Hokkaido to continue reinforcing connections with Vietnamese localities in concrete and practical fields, including trade, investment, tourism, culture, and Japanese language teaching.

The FM also called on local enterprises to invest more in the Southeast Asian nation in the areas they are strong at such as high-tech agriculture, forestry, along with seafood processing and export; boost collaboration in manpower training, especially high-quality workers for the semiconductor industry; receive more Vietnamese apprentices; and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study, and work in the prefecture.

Meanwhile, Suzuki affirmed his prefecture’s willingness to enhance cooperation with Vietnamese localities, receive more high-quality workers and apprentices from Vietnam, and increase collaboration in training human resources.

The governor also spoke highly of contributions by about 12,000 Vietnamese people, the largest foreign community in Hokkaido, to local socio-economic development. He expressed his hope that more Vietnamese will come to work here, pledging further support for the community.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges such as the Vietnam Festival in Sapporo city and the Hokkaido Festival in Ha Long city will continue to be held in order to deepen the cohesion and mutual understanding between Vietnamese and Japanese people, he added.

On August 8, Son received former Special Ambassador for Japan - Vietnam Sugi Ryotaro, appreciating the latter’s dedications to the two countries’ friendship for the last more than 30 years./.