Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong arrived in Hanoi on the afternoon of September 18, successfully concluding his official visit to Japan made at the invitation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. During his four-day stay, the Party chief held talks with Abe, had meetings with Emperor Akihito, President of the House of Councilors Masaaki Yamazaki and Speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives Tadamori Oshima, and received Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. He also met with representatives from all walks of life and the business community, as well as leaders of Japan’s major political parties and major economic groups, and visited Kanagawa prefecture. During the talks and meetings, the two sides affirmed they will treasure bilateral relations, pledging to work together to promote the strategic partnership comprehensively and intensively. They agreed to strengthen cooperation and promote sustainable linkages between the two economies with the focus on connectivity in development strategy, production capacity and human resources. Both countries were unanimous in expanding collaboration in culture, people-to-people exchange, education-training, science-technology and defence security, as well as continuing close coordination at regional and international forums. On this occasion, the two sides adopted a statement on a joint vision for Vietnam-Japan relations, which specifies major orientations and cooperation measures to strongly and comprehensively boost the bilateral ties in the future. Ten cooperation agreements were also signed during the Party leader’s visit.-VNA