Tokyo (VNA) – The Vietnam - Japan relations arenow in their prime and live up to the countries’ extensive strategicpartnership, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said on theoccasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (September21, 1973 - 2023).

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, he said that over thelast 50 years, the countries’ friendship and cooperation have been reinforced unceasinglyand developed comprehensively in all aspects, becoming a bright spot in theimplementation of Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, anddiversification and multilateralisation of international relations.

Japancurrently ranks first among providers of official development assistance (ODA),second among labour cooperation partners, third among foreign investors andtourism partners, and fourth among trading partners of Vietnam.

Japanhas over 5,000 valid investment projects worth more than 70 billion USD inVietnam, which, in turn, has invested about 19.5 million USD in 106 projects inthe Northeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, bilateral trade has continued growing ina balanced manner, approximating 50 billion USD in 2022, statistics show.

Bilateralties in politics, diplomacy, security, defence, economy, and education -training have been consolidated and become increasingly effective and substantive.Cultural exchanges, people-to-people links, and locality-to-localitiesconnections have also been further enhanced, serving as important and solidstepping stones for bilateral relations.

Developing human resources is also an importantpillar of their ties. There are nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan atpresent, making them the second largest foreign communities there and also animportant source of manpower for many sectors in Japan, according to Hieu.

He said 50 years are not a long period in the nearly-1,300-year history ofthe countries’ connections but have witnessed the fast, breakthrough, and comprehensivedevelopment of bilateral cooperation and friendship. The two sides have becomecritically important partners of each other. Their relations have continuallybeen upgraded over years, reaching the “extensive strategic partnership for peaceand prosperity in Asia” in 2014.

The ambassador noted the countries have frequently heldhigh-level mutual visits as well as meetings on the sidelines of internationaland regional conferences to strengthen their leaders’ mutual trust and outlinemajor orientations for bilateral relations in all fields.

They have cooperated closely and effectively at internationaland regional forums like the United Nations, the ASEAN Plus meetings, theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM),thereby actively contributing to peace, stability, and development inAsia-Pacific.

He perceived that the two economies are highly complementaryto each other and still hold much cooperation potential, especially in thepost-COVID-19 period.

To continue fostering bilateral relations, Vietnam and Japanshould step up the implementation of high-level agreements, Hieu remarked, notingthat first, they need to keep strengthening political trust by increasingall-level visits and engagements, especially at high levels.

In 2023, when the countries celebrate 50 years of their diplomaticties, Vietnam needs to coordinate with Japan to bolster friendship andcooperation in all spheres and herald a new period of more substantive andeffective development of relations.

Second, they need to capitalise on their economies’ complementaryadvantages, enhance economic connectivity, and maintain Japan as a leadingpartner of Vietnam in terms of ODA, investment, and trade.

Vietnam should continue calling for Japan’s provision ofnew-generation ODA for the development of strategic infrastructure, digitaltransformation, climate change response, and health care. It also needs to makeuse of Japanese firms’ attention to Vietnam during their supply chain diversificationto attract high-quality investment from the Northeast Asian country and join supplychains of Japanese businesses.

Third, both sides should foster cooperation in potentialareas such as digital transformation, digital economy, and green transition,the diplomat added./.