General Secretary To Lam met with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on April 27.

On April 29, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and his wife Ishiba Yoshiko and a high-ranking Japanese delegation left Hanoi, successfully concluding a three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife.

Sharing with The World and Vietnam Newspaper , Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitamura Toshihiro said that the outstanding results of Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru's visit were reflected in three key areas in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries:

Many concrete and practical results

Regarding political-security-defense-diplomatic cooperation , the two sides agreed to establish a 2+2 Dialogue mechanism at the Deputy Ministerial level of Foreign Affairs and Defense and hold the first meeting in Japan in 2025. Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro said that this mechanism is very important for the two countries to share information and cooperate effectively in the current volatile regional and international situation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and delegates attend the Vietnam-Japan Forum on April 28. (Source: VGP)

Regarding strengthening economic relations , Japan supports Vietnam's initiatives and policies to enhance development cooperation in the new era, especially in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, DX/GX, energy, strategic infrastructure, disaster prevention, human resource training, and supply chains.

“Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru strongly supports the orientation towards the new era proposed by General Secretary To Lam, and emphasizes that Vietnam's economic growth is important for the overall development of the entire region,” said Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro.

The Japanese diplomat cited a specific result of the visit as the country will receive about 250 Vietnamese doctoral students in the field of semiconductors, aiming to train 500 Vietnamese doctors in semiconductors, through the international joint research program of the Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Project (NEXUS), as well as promoting the Sakura Scientific Research Program on the exchange of new-generation human resources in the field of advanced science and technology, including the semiconductor field.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also paid special attention to the cooperation between the two countries in the field of green transformation during the visit. Accordingly, the two sides agreed to promote cooperation in realizing projects in the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Project List (Phase 1) with a scale of about 20 billion USD, as well as further efforts on biomass power generation projects, in accordance with the principles of the Asian Zero Emission Community (AZEC) on ensuring a balance between emission reduction, economic growth, energy security, as well as carbon neutrality.

Regarding people-to-people exchange and local cooperation , there are currently more than 600,000 Vietnamese people living in Japan and each year about 620,000 Vietnamese tourists visit the land of the rising sun. During the visit, the two Prime Ministers agreed to create a favorable environment for citizens of the two countries to travel to promote tourism and people-to-people exchange, aiming to reach the target of 2 million tourists per year.

In addition, Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro also noted efforts to promote cultural cooperation between Vietnam and Japan through utilizing the New Generation Co-Creation Partnership - WA Culture 2.0, based on Japan's experience in successfully organizing local art festivals, including the Setouchi International Art Festival.

Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitamura Toshihiro at a press conference. (Photo: Thu Trang)

Diary entries from 35 years ago come true

Expressing his honor to accompany Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru to the S-shaped country in the last days of historic April when Vietnam celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025), Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro felt that the atmosphere in Hanoi these days was wonderful and "very lucky" to come to Vietnam at this important time.

“Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru expressed his satisfaction with this visit. During meetings with senior Vietnamese leaders, the Prime Minister said that this was his second visit to Vietnam. His first visit to the S-shaped country was 35 years ago and at that time he was very impressed by the vitality of the Vietnamese people,” said Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro.

During the meetings, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru also mentioned President Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on peace, humanity and tolerance - the guiding principle for all activities of the Party and State of Vietnam.

“When visiting Vietnam 35 years ago, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru wrote in his diary that Vietnam had full potential for development and now he realizes that his diary has come true,” Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro shared.

For Mr. Kitamura Toshihiro personally, the visit left him with an unforgettable impression of the capital Hanoi: “It was wonderful to see Hanoi shining in the red flag with the yellow star, an already beautiful place that became even more beautiful. The red flag and the strong heartbeat of Vietnam left a special impression on me.”