Friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan have been further strengthened on both bilateral and multilateral levels in all fields of cooperation, ranging from politics, security and defence to economics, trade and investment, healthcare, culture, education, science, and technology.
The visits made by high-ranking leaders of the two countries along with the cooperation and exchanges between Government agencies, socio-economic organisations, and localities of the two countries — which have been held actively and vibrantly — have created a firm foundation for the achievements the two countries have gained together over the past half century.
Japan currently ranks first among providers of official development assistance (ODA), second among labour cooperation partners, and third among foreign investors and tourism partners of Vietnam.
The bilateral trade has continued growing in a balanced manner, approximating 50 billion USD in 2022, making Japan the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam. Japan has over 5,000 valid investment projects worth more than 70 billion USD in Vietnam, ranking third among countries and territories investing in the country. Meanwhile, Vietnam has invested about 19.5 million USD into 106 projects in Japan.
The Vietnamese community in Japan, which is one of the important factors contributing to the development of Vietnam-Japan relations, has been growing, with nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people currently living, studying and working across 47 provinces and cities in Japan. They have made practical contributions to strengthening the friendship between the two countries.
To date, in addition to the Embassy in Hanoi, the Japanese Government has opened two Consulates General in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City to support citizens of the two countries, especially more than 20,000 Japanese citizens who are living in Vietnam.
In recent years, Vietnam-Japan cooperation in education and training has developed diversely, in many forms. The Vietnam-Japan University has been established under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, contributing to the training of high-quality human resources for Vietnam in the fields of science, technology, management, and services.
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Delegates at the Vietnamese Festival, which was held in Yokohama, the capital city of Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, in September under the theme ‘Connecting for future’. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Japan) |
Japan has also actively supported a number of Vietnamese universities to meet standards for high-quality university, and assisted the teaching of Japanese language at a number of primary and secondary schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Over the past three decades, more than 350,000 Vietnamese interns have been sent to Japan, making Vietnam currently rank first in the number of foreign interns in Japan with more than 200,000 people.
Tomotaka Shoji, Director of the National Institute for Defence Studies’ Regional Studies Department under the Japanese Ministry of Defence, stressed that Japan always attaches great importance to economic cooperation with Vietnam in its foreign policy.
Japan not only wants to strengthen relation with Vietnam at the bilateral level, but also expects to cooperate more closely with Vietnam in regional economic cooperation frameworks and in important multilateral frameworks.
In his opening speech at the Vietnamese Festival, which was held in Yokohama, the capital city of Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, in September under the theme ‘Connecting for future’, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu stressed his hope that people of the two countries will foster their connectivity under the motto “Vietnam and Japan head to the future together and rise to the world”.
At their recent meetings, senior leaders of the two countries emphasised that the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan is at its best stage, developing with high political trust.
Regular cultural activities and people-to-people exchanges have contributed to strengthening understanding and tightening the Vietnam-Japan friendship.
This year, Vietnam and Japan are co-hosting a wide range of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in a bid to nurture the bilateral relationship — which is said to have “limitless potential” for further development.
