Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet who is on an official visit to Japan yesterday signed scores of agreements with its largest ODA donor worth over US$4.51 billion.
President Triet and First Lady Tran Thi Kim Chi who arrived in Japan on November 25 yesterday held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo.
Both expressed their pleasures at increasing ties between the two countries in all aspects, contributing to peace, stability and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and the world in general.
President Triet thanked the Japanese government and people for their great and effective assistance, especially in providing Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Viet Nam for national construction and development. He pledged to create favorable conditions for Japanese investors in Viet Nam.
Japan is Viet Nam’s most important trade partner, largest ODA donor and one of the country’s biggest foreign investors, Mr. Triet said.
Japan ODA has now topped US$11 billion and makes up about a third of all aid to Viet Nam over the last 15 years.
Prime Minister Fukuda affirmed bilateral relations have experienced the finest-ever development period.
He also called Viet Nam an emerging economy and a driving force for economic development in Asia.
The Japanese PM committed to assisting Viet Nam in economic reforms, poverty reduction and hunger eradication and encouraging Japanese businesses to invest in Viet Nam.
Japan has invited over 2,000 Vietnamese youths to study in Japan in the next 5 years.
Both parties also agreed to enhance regional integration on the basis of peace, security, stability and prosperity by boosting Japan’s cooperation with ASEAN, East Asia Summit and ASEAN+3.
Japan pledged to provide continued aid to the development of the Mekong River basin, East-West Economic Corridor and Development Triangle.
President Triet apprised PM Fukuda of the notorious collapse of the Japanese-ODA funded Can Tho Bridge in the namesake city in southern Viet Nam, saying it was an unwanted incident.
The bridge, being built by Japanese contractors, late last September partly collapsed, killing 54 people and injuring 80 others. It was the most serious accident in Viet Nam's construction sector yet.
Viet Nam appreciates Japan’s and Japanese contractors’ high sense of responsibility in this incident, Triet added.
PM Fukuda invited Viet Nam Communist Party’s General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and the legislature National Assembly’s Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong to officially visit Japan early next year.
For his part, President Triet invited the Japanese Emperor, the Queen, other royal members and Prime Minister Fukuda to visit Viet Nam in the coming time.
President Triet and PM Fukuda later signed a joint statement on deepening bilateral relations and approved an agenda towards “A Strategic Partnership” between the two countries.
Earlier, Mr. Triet had met with Japanese Lower House Speaker Kono Yohei and Upper House President Satsuki Eda and leaders of major corporations including Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Itochu.
On the same day, Triet also witnessed the signing of 12 cooperation documents between the two countries including agreements on investment promotion, on building a steel mill and a thermo-electricity power plant in Viet Nam, on oil and gas cooperation, shipbuilding, loans, and an agreement between the Sumitomo Group and the Viet Nam Export-Import Bank.
SBI Holdings, Inc signed with Viet Nam’s FPT a deal to form the Viet Nam-Japan Fund worth US$100 million.
Japan also signed 13 new investment agreements.
In total, the above agreements are valued at over US$4.51 billion.
Later the same day, President Triet told the press the meetings were a success and that the two countries will initiate negotiations to soon reach the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), expected to benefit the two countries and help boost bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation as well as bring bilateral relations to a new height.
As scheduled, this noon today, Emperor Akihito and the Queen will bid farewell to Triet and his wife who will leave Tokyo for Kyoto.
