Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Japan need toceaselessly promote cooperation, thus making their intensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia more practical, towards shaping a new strategic partnership model in the EastAsia-Pacific region.

Prof. Nguyen Xuan Thang – who holds the positions of Secretary of the Party Central Committee(PCC), Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Vice Chairmanof the PCC’s Theoretical Council and Chairman of the Party Central TheoreticalCouncil – made the suggestion at an international symposium themed“Vietnam-Japan Relations development: History and Prospects” in Hanoi onSeptember 21.

Thang said that the promotion of bilateral relations should be done basedon the solid consolidation of strategic trust, comprehensive cooperation, andresponsibility-sharing for regional and global issues.

He emphasised that the two countries should continue to improve the efficiencyof their economic cooperation in line with the trends of regional integration enhancementand the rapid evolution of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Japan and Vietnam ought to play a leading role in accelerating the realisationof the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and actively coordinate in negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as well as join hands in creating andconnecting a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he said.

The two countries should take the initiative inpromoting overall connection between their governments, localities, enterprises,and sectors, especially in fields with high productivity, quality, efficiency, andthose using high technology, Thang noted.

Vietnam's supporting industries ought to be connectedto global production networks, especially those led by Japanese technologygroups, he added.

Thang underlined the need for the two sides to foster efforts to achieve the goalof doubling their 2014 trade and investment turnover by 2020.

The two sides should also expand practical and effective defence and security collaboration– especially in maritime safety – and jointly deal with non-traditionalsecurity issues – such as cyber security and global climate change, which aremajor challenges for the development of humanity, he said.

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Vietnam needs to enlist technologicalsupport provided by the Japanese side in order to develop new sectors such as high-techagriculture, industries and services; and learn from Japan’s experience in buildinga 5.0 social model, Thang said.

He suggested the two sides enhance links in education-training and people-to-peopleexchange to deepen comprehensive relations between the two nations in thefuture.

Addressing the event, Japanese Ambassadorto Vietnam Kunio Umeda stressed that the bilateral relations are now at theirbest point, adding that the ties are based on mutual trust as the two countriesshare many strategic interests.

He also underlined the necessity for the two sides to further bolster their tiesin the context of great changes in the world’s order.

Participants said the friendship between Vietnamand Japan has been ceaselessly developed, opening new and effective cooperationframeworks.
The two sides have upgraded theirrelations to the intensive strategic partnership for peace andprosperity in Asia.

Over the last 45 years, the Japan-Vietnam friendshiphas been constantly developing, in which economic cooperation has always been atop priority and a great success for the two countries' relations.

The two-way trade reached over 33.84 billion USD in 2017. This hit 8.7 billion inthe first quarter of 2018, up nearly 16 percent over the same period last year.

Japan is Vietnam's fourth largest trade partner. Thecountry’s investment in Vietnam in 2017 reached a record of 9.1 billion USD. Bythe end of the first quarter of 2018, Japan had nearly 3,700 investmentprojects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of nearly 50 billion USD.

At present, more than 2,500 Japanese enterprises areoperating in Vietnam, including most of the country’s major corporations. Japan was also the first G7 country to recognise Vietnam's market.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges between thetwo countries are continuously promoted under many formats. The number ofVietnamese students and trainees in Japan, as well as those of Japanesestudents pursuing their studies in Vietnam, has increased rapidly in recentyears.

Regarding defence and security bonds, the twocountries also achieved remarkable cooperation results in preventing transnationalcrime and ensuring safety and security at sea. –VNA