According to Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam Yamada Takio, Japan invited Vietnam to attend the expanded G7 Summit this time because Vietnam is an important and necessary partner in implementing Japan's goal of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), and at the same time, Vietnam has the ability and determination to actively contribute to the process of resolving key issues of the international community expected to be raised at the Summit.

Also according to Ambassador Yamada Takio, among ASEAN member countries, only Indonesia, the 2023 ASEAN Chair, and Vietnam are the only two countries invited to attend this expanded G7 Summit.

In addition to Vietnam, countries that are not the chair of a regional or global cooperation forum or mechanism are also invited to attend this expanded G7 Summit, including Brazil, South Korea and Australia.

In that sense, it affirms that Japan "extremely values" its cooperative relationship with Vietnam.

Along with that, Japan and Vietnam agreed to upgrade the current extensive strategic partnership between the two countries to a new level this year at a high-level online meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong held last February.

Therefore, Vietnam's invitation to attend the G7 Summit this time is an important milestone to upgrade the partnership between the two countries to a new level, and at the same time create momentum to promote this process.

In 2022, the total export turnover between Vietnam and Japan will reach nearly 50 billion USD, making Japan Vietnam's 4th largest trading partner, of which Vietnam's exports to Japan will reach nearly 25 billion USD. Vietnam also plays a very important role in the supply chain of Japanese companies.

PV