At a time when the relationship between the two countries is developing well with many potentials and opportunities for cooperation, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to Japan opens up a new vision for the development of the extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia between Vietnam and Japan.

Welcoming ceremony for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the Vietnamese delegation. Photo: VGP/Xuan Tuyen

At the invitation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid an official visit to Japan from September 15-18.

At the end of the visit, Mr. Hoang Binh Quan, member of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central External Relations Commission, gave an interview to the press, assessing the significance and results of the visit.

Sir, the official visit to Japan by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong this time is an important milestone in the Vietnam-Japan relationship. During the 4 days, the General Secretary had an extremely busy visit with a dense schedule of activities in Japan. Could you please tell us your assessment of the significance and main results of the visit?
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Mr. Hoang Binh Quan: This is the first official visit to Japan by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his capacity as General Secretary of our Party, a very important event that both sides have been looking forward to after many years. This is the visit of the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the highest leader of Vietnam to Japan.
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At a time when the relationship between the two countries is on a good development path with many potentials and opportunities for cooperation, the visit opens a new vision for the development of the extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia between Vietnam and Japan. The two leaders issued a Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam-Japan relations, demonstrating a new, positive and solid development step of Vietnam-Japan relations.
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It should also be added that Japan attaches great importance to the visit, carefully and substantially preparing to welcome General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong with the highest ceremony. For example, the Foreign Minister came to greet the General Secretary, the entire Japanese Cabinet, including the Deputy Prime Minister, who attended the official welcoming ceremony.
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The talks, meetings and contacts took place in a very sincere, trustworthy and substantive atmosphere. In addition to the official reception at the Prime Minister's residence, there was also a reception by the Speaker of the House of Representatives at his private residence. These exceptions partly reflect Japan's trust, respect and high regard for Vietnam.
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The visit was a great success and achieved many important results, contributing to comprehensively promoting and deepening the relationship between the two countries. During the 4 days, the General Secretary had a dense and rich working program with 26 activities, including official activities with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meetings with the Emperor and Japanese leaders, meetings with representatives of all social classes and major political parties of Japan, contacts with the business community and leaders of many large corporations, and a visit to Kanagawa province.
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Some of the main results of the visit can be highlighted:
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Firstly, the visit has significantly contributed to deepening political trust between the two countries. Both sides clearly recognized each other's role, affirmed the importance of bilateral relations, and made joint efforts to comprehensively and deeply promote the extensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Both sides agreed to continue to maintain regular high-level visits and contacts; expand and deepen existing dialogue and cooperation mechanisms. Japan affirmed its importance to developing relations with Vietnam as an important partner in the region. We affirmed our consistent policy of considering Japan as a leading and long-term important partner of Vietnam.
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Second, during the visit, the two sides had in-depth exchanges and agreed to strengthen cooperation and promote connectivity between the two economies, considering it an important foundation of the relationship between the two countries with three focuses: connecting development strategies, connecting production capacity and connecting human resources.

Japan pledged 100 billion yen in ODA for three important projects and promised to actively consider providing 300 billion yen in ODA in 2015. The two sides signed a “Medium and Long-Term Vision for Agricultural Cooperation”, a field with great potential for the two countries. Japan also announced the opening of its market for Vietnamese mangoes. These are very substantial results of cooperation.
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Third, the two countries also agreed to expand cooperation in other areas, including culture, people-to-people exchange, education, training, science, technology... agreed to strengthen cooperation, promote defense exchanges, and support Vietnam in participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Prime Minister Abe affirmed his willingness to cooperate with Vietnam to improve law enforcement capacity at sea. The two sides affirmed to continue to closely coordinate in international and regional forums on issues of mutual concern.
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Vietnam acknowledges and appreciates Japan's historical lessons and consistent commitment to following the path of peaceful development; supports Japan in having a worthy position and actively contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
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The vision, major orientations, and specific cooperation contents achieved through the visit, expressed in the Joint Statement and with 10 signed documents, will create momentum for comprehensive development and strongly promote the Vietnam-Japan Extensive Strategic Partnership in an increasingly practical, effective, and profound direction.

Sir, so one of the important results of the visit is that both sides agreed to promote connectivity and economic cooperation. Could you please assess the prospects of this very important cooperation content?
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Mr. Hoang Binh Quan: This is indeed a very important result achieved during this visit. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation and promote the connection of the two economies in a long-term and sustainable manner; clarify the content of economic connection, which is a higher level than normal economic cooperation, according to which the two countries will:
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Firstly, exploiting complementary and mutually supportive factors, especially in terms of labor force, resources, capital, science, technology, etc. Japan is a developed industrial country with advantages in capital, technology and management experience, while Vietnam is on the path of industrialization and modernization with rich resources, abundant human resources and a potential market. The two countries can maximize the fields with comparative advantages, complement and support each other, such as supporting industries, agriculture, forestry and fishery. This is the connection of production capacity and human resources between the two countries.
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Second, establish and increase the intertwining of economic interests between the two countries. Japan has always accompanied Vietnam in the Doi Moi process. Prime Minister Abe affirmed to actively cooperate with Vietnam in using the 110 billion USD credit fund of the High-quality Infrastructure Partnership Initiative. The two countries are participating in negotiations on high-level free trade agreements in the region. The increasing scale and level of cooperation and common integration commitments in regional cooperation mechanisms demonstrate the increasingly intertwining of economic interests between the two countries.
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Third, ensure that economic cooperation between the two countries is stable and long-term. The two countries cooperate and support each other in planning sustainable economic development strategies in the direction of complementing each other's potential and advantages in a number of key areas. This is the connection of economic development strategies.
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In fact, the above factors have partly existed in the Vietnam-Japan relationship. It is worth mentioning that, through this visit, the two sides have achieved high political determination to accelerate existing factors, supplement potential factors, and create conditions to promote the process of connecting the two economies to take place quickly. This is an important development step in the Vietnam-Japan economic cooperation.

During the visit, the General Secretary delivered a very important speech on the vision for developing bilateral relations at a meeting with representatives from all walks of life in Japan. The General Secretary outlined the orientation for developing bilateral relations in the coming time as “strengthening trust, economic connectivity, expanding cooperation, sustainable development, and looking towards the future.” Could you please tell us some highlights of this important exchange?

Mr. Hoang Binh Quan: This is a very important speech by the General Secretary at the meeting with nearly 500 representatives of all walks of life in Japan, including former Prime Ministers, many parliamentarians, leaders of political parties and many high-ranking officials and leaders of corporations. The speech reflects the vision of the relationship, mentioning many profound issues in the relationship between the two countries and the international and regional situation:
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Affirming that the Vietnam-Japan relationship originated “a long time ago” and has gone through ups and downs. However, the two peoples have overcome the obstacles of the past, moving forward with a spirit of peace, tolerance, and looking towards the future, thereby further demonstrating the profound significance of the current relationship achievements. Depicting the historical relationship as a foundation of the relationship between the two countries.
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Deeply appreciate the relationship between the two countries in recent times, especially in the last 20 years, which has made very strong, comprehensive and profound progress, opening up the best period in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries; reaching the framework of "Extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia". Trusting political relations have been increasingly strengthened. Economic cooperation has become a prominent highlight. Cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges have been strongly and richly promoted. Cooperation in other fields has been continuously expanded. The people of the two countries always have good and sincere feelings for each other.
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Recognizing that the world and regional situation is changing rapidly and complexly. In today's world, the interests of countries are increasingly linked and intertwined, and emerging challenges are also common challenges for all countries. Each country needs to demonstrate a higher sense of responsibility for regional and international issues; it is necessary to strengthen equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in accordance with international law and the common interests of the international community.
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Overview of the vision for the development of Vietnam-Japan relations in the coming time; emphasizing that with the emotional attachment, cultural similarities and similarities in interests, the relationship between the two countries will certainly continue to create new bright pages in history, meeting the expectations of the leaders and people of the two countries. Clearly state the policy of comprehensively promoting and deepening the extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.
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General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong quoted the saying of famous Japanese thinker Yoshida Shoin, “Sincere cooperation will surely yield good results,” and expressed his hope that the Vietnam-Japan relationship will become one of “like-mindedness,” “trust,” and “empathy.”
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This important speech by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received great attention and appreciation from the audience. After listening to the speech of the General Secretary, many famous Japanese personalities expressed their feelings that this was a very profound and highly strategic speech.

In an article about the General Secretary's visit to Japan published in the Japan Times, you emphasized that "the visits to the world's leading powers this year by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam also show that Vietnam is actively and consistently implementing its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralization of relations and deepening foreign relations with major partners. Could you please clarify this statement?

Mr. Hoang Binh Quan: The consistent foreign policy of our Party and State during the Doi Moi period is independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization of relations. In recent years, we have emphasized the need to deepen relations. The General Secretary's visits to China, the United States and Japan this year consistently demonstrate this foreign policy.
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Independence and autonomy, because we promote relations with countries on the basis of national and ethnic interests; on the principles of equality and mutual benefit; non-interference in each other's internal affairs; in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law; beneficial to peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the world.
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This is also to diversify and multilateralize relations with our important partners, as well as diversify and multilateralize areas of cooperation with these partner countries.

The important visits are a vivid manifestation of the implementation of foreign policy to deepen relations with other countries. Through the visits, our relations with the three leading powers of the world have been strengthened and consolidated.
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With China, we have gradually restored all areas of cooperation and oriented the bilateral relationship to develop in a healthy and positive direction. With the United States, the General Secretary's historic visit is an important milestone that opens a new chapter, creating a political foundation to bring the bilateral relationship to a new level. With Japan, this visit opens a new vision, comprehensively promoting and deepening the extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia.

It can be affirmed that the very successful visits of the General Secretary this year have deepened the country's important foreign relations, significantly enhanced the international position of our Party and our country, and contributed significantly to creating a favorable international environment for the cause of national construction and protection./.

According to Chinhphu.vn