Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son recently had a meeting with Vice President of the House of Councilors of Japan Nagahama Hiroyuki, Executive Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Miyazaki Katsura, and Governor of Hokkaido prefecture Suzuki Naomichi.

At the meeting, the Foreign Minister said that Japan's ODA has made an important contribution to infrastructure construction with many projects that are symbolic of the bilateral relationship. The two countries are also expanding cooperation into new areas such as energy transition, green transition, and digital transformation.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son meets with Vice President of the House of Councilors Nagahama Hiroyuki. Photo: WVR

Proposal to exempt entry visas and grant long-term visas to Vietnamese citizens

At the meeting with Vice President of the House of Councilors Nagahama Hiroyuki, Bui Thanh Son proposed that Japan support and strengthen delegation exchanges at all levels, parliamentary exchanges, exchanges between young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians, and support the two countries to deepen economic ties through promoting Official Development Assistance (ODA) cooperation, investment and trade.

The two sides promote cooperation in training high-quality human resources in the fields of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, green transformation, railways and high-speed railways, promote exchanges and local connections, expand cultural cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

Bui Thanh Son supported the Japanese Government to continue simplifying procedures, and moving towards visa exemption, considering granting long-term visas to Vietnamese citizens.

Hiroyuki affirmed that he will support promoting the Vietnam - Japan comprehensive strategic partnership in all fields, strengthen exchanges and close cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries in the coming time.

Promoting the progress of ODA projects in Vietnam

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son meets with the Executive Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Miyazaki Katsura. Photo: WVR

During his meeting with JICA Executive Senior Vice President Miyazaki Katsura, Vietnamese Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the Vietnamese government continues to consider ODA as a crucial and prioritized source of funding for large-scale, key infrastructure projects in the coming period. In that spirit, Vietnam requested Japan to accelerate the progress of several key ODA cooperation projects between the two countries.

Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that JICA consider providing Vietnam with new-generation ODA loans with more favorable and simplified terms and procedures in the areas of large-scale infrastructure development, healthcare, environmental protection, and climate change response.

He also requested JICA to support Vietnam in human resource training, and to promote specific aid projects for Vietnam in emerging fields such as digital transformation, green transition, innovation, and administrative reform.

JICA Executive Senior Vice President Miyazaki Katsura welcomed the 12th meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Committee, which discussed measures to promote economic cooperation, including increasingly substantive and effective ODA cooperation.

Miyazaki Katsura agreed to consider Vietnam's proposals on the implementation of several ODA loan projects, and support for human resource training in new areas such as digital transformation, green transition, and innovation.

On this occasion, he also announced that a delegation would be sent to survey a project to develop climate-resilient infrastructure to support production for ethnic groups in 11 mountainous and midland provinces in the northern region.

Hokkaido seeks to accept more Vietnamese workers

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (left) and Governor of Hokkaido prefecture Suzuki Naomichi. Photo: NDO

In an exchange with Governor of Hokkaido Suzuki Naomichi, Bui Thanh Son suggested that Hokkaido continue to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese localities in specific and practical areas such as trade, investment, tourism, culture, and Japanese language teaching. He encouraged businesses in the province to invest more in Vietnam in areas where Hokkaido has strengths such as high-tech agriculture, forestry, seafood processing and export.

Appreciating the contributions of the community of about 12,000 Vietnamese people in Hokkaido, Suzuki Naomichi said that the province wishes to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese localities, receive more high-quality workers and Vietnamese interns to work in the province, and agree to promote cooperation in human resource training.

He affirmed that he will continue to support the Vietnamese community here, and continue to organize more cultural and people-to-people exchange events such as the Vietnam Festival in Sapporo and the Hokkaido Festival in Ha Long, thereby enhancing the connection, affection and mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.

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