Vietnam, Japan enhance strategic partnership

He held talks in Tokyo on Saturday with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, following a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese PM.

At the meeting, PM Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and PM Shinzo Abe reached a consensus on specific measures to develop their extensive strategic partnership.

The two PMs agreed to boost political trust by maintaining regular exchanges between high-ranking delegations. They said they will reinforce defence and security cooperation, particularly in dealing with UN peacekeeping missions and the aftermath of war.

The two sides pledged close cooperation in implementing Vietnam’s Industrialisation Strategy, and accelerating big infrastructure projects, including the North-South Highway and the Ninh Thuận 2 Nuclear Power Plant.

Concerning climate change, PM Shinzo Abe announced a non-refundable aid worth 2.5 million USD to assist Vietnam in dealing with drought and salt water intrusion.

PM Shinzo Abe also affirmed that Japan would coordinate with Vietnam in preparation for the APEC Year in 2017.

The two sides agreed on the importance of ensuring peace, security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, stressing that disputes should be solved via peaceful measures on the basis of respect for international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea ( DOC ), while striving for the early formation of a Code of Conduct ( COC ) in the East Sea.

"Japan will help enhance Vietnam’s law enforcement capabilities at sea and hasten the building of new patrol ships for Vietnam. Vietnam is an important partner of Japan. Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and I will work to further this bilateral cooperation." - Japanese Prime Minister SHINZO ABE

"I appreciate that Japan will continue offering ODA for socio-economic cooperation, and that Japan will work closely with Vietnam in a $110-billion-USD credit plan to develop high-quality infrastructure in Asia, which was mentioned at the recent G7 Summit." - Prime Minister NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

After the talks, the two prime ministers witnessed the exchange of 5 cooperation documents. Four of these are on ODA loans worth a total of 1.5 billion USD, for projects like urban railway No1 in Hồ Chí Minh City, the Thái Bình thermoelectricity plant, and the second phase of Hồ Chí Minh City’s water environment improvement work. The fifth document is a stock purchase agreement between Vietnam Airlines and Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc.