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Japanese Crown Prince Akishino (second, right) and Japanese Crown Princess Kiko (first, right) and Truong Thi Mai (third, right), chairwoman of the Vietnam – Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group visit a photo exhibition at the ceremony on Thursday evening. (Photo: SGGP) |
Vietnam and Japan will continue the future hand-in-hand cooperating journey more firmly, cohesively, and effectively through the sincere heart-to-heart connection between the people of the two countries, the support as well as the consensus of the leaders of Vietnam and Japan.
Truong Thi Mai, a Politburo member, standing member of the Secretariat, head of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission, and chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, made this statement on Thursday evening during the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (September 21, 1973 – September 21, 2023).
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Truong Thi Mai, chairwoman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: SGGP) |
The ceremony was co-organized by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group.
Ms. Mai also emphasized that with a history of people-to-people exchanges spanning more than 13 centuries, dating back to the 8th century, and half a century of cooperation and mutual development since the official establishment of diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Japan have cultivated a practical and effective friendship and cooperation relationship based on cultural similarities, a strong historical connection, and a high level of political trust.
“Japan is Vietnam’s leading economic, trade, investment, tourism, and labor partner,” she said.
The two countries are important partners of each other in the region and the world, she added.
The cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education, culture, local exchanges, and people-to-people exchanges has been strongly promoted and achieved many positive results, she said.
The expansion in both scale and quantity of Vietnamese Festivals and Japanese Festivals, as well as cultural exchange activities taking place regularly in localities of the two countries, have been bringing Vietnamese people and Japanese people to move closer together, she said.
The growth of the Vietnamese community in Japan and the Japanese community in Vietnam over the past years has not only contributed positively to the socio-economic development of each country but also served as a bridge to strengthen understanding and attachment between the two peoples as well as being an important foundation to promote the sustainable, long-term friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the future, she said.
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Japanese Crown Prince Akishino speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: SGGP) |
At the ceremony, Japanese Crown Prince Akishino said “The friendship between Japan and Vietnam has been cultivated over a long history.”
Exchange activities between the two countries have taken place extremely vibrantly, especially exchanges between the young generations of the two countries, including international student exchanges over the past five decades since the two countries established diplomatic relations, he said.
In addition, exchanges between localities of the two countries also took place enthusiastically with events introducing Japanese-Vietnamese culture held in provinces and cities in both countries, giving a large number of people the opportunity to enjoy the unique features of each other's culinary culture, he said.
It can be seen that exchanges between Japan and Vietnam have developed sustainably over the past years, and the cooperative relationship has become more and more extensive in many diverse fields such as economics, agriculture, and environment, he said.
On this occasion, Japanese Crown Prince Akishino expressed that his visit would contribute to further tightening mutual understanding and friendship between the people of Japan and Vietnam.
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An art performance at the ceremony (Photo: SGGP) |
Also at the ceremony, To Huy Rua, Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association, said Vietnam and Japan have many similarities in culture and history, making the two peoples not only come closer to each other but also blend and complement each other.
At the same time, the growth of the community of nearly 500,000 Vietnamese people in Japan and the community of nearly 30,000 Japanese people in Vietnam is believed to be a sustainable foundation for the development of relations between the two countries, he said.
He reviewed remarkable milestones in the relationship between the two countries over the past 50 years, such as building Vietnam - Japan relations following the motto “reliable, stable and long-term partners” in 2002; signing a Joint Statement on "Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia" in 2009; and upgrading the relationship to a higher level “Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia” in 2014.
He added that the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association will organize more people-to-people and cultural exchange activities to promote the friendship between organizations, localities, and people of the two countries in the future.
Priority is given to creating conditions for exchange programs for young people, students, and future owners of the two countries, he said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio said “Japan-Vietnam relations in all fields including politics, economics, and culture are considered to be at the best stage ever.”
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Japanese Crown Prince Akishino (second, right) and Japanese Crown Princess Kiko (third, right) and Truong Thi Mai (fourth, right), chairwoman of the Vietnam – Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group visit a photo exhibition at the ceremony on Thursday evening. (Photo: SGGP) |
Reviewing some impressive numbers, he said Vietnam is the second most popular destination for Japanese businesses in the world after the United States.
“The Vietnamese community is the second largest foreign community in Japan,” he said.
Vietnam also ranks second in the world in the number of international students in Japan, he said.
He expressed his belief that the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is not just a mere number, but when the next generation looks back, this anniversary year will be evaluated as the year that opened new opportunities for relations between the two countries to develop even stronger.
